New Born Kat
by GreyDog
Summary: Grey Pawson, orphaned as a kitten, adopted by Chance & Jake, suffers nightmares in his teens. Will a letter left by his mother give him the answer he seeks & why is Dark kat after him?
1. Prologue

NEW BORN KAT

AN: Sorry had to changed everything, and thank you Ulyferal for the help with this story I couldn't done it without you, thank you.

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Prologue

It was night time in Megakat City and in the shadows a female kat in her early twenties was clutching a kitten tightly in her arms. Bleeding from a serious injury to the chest, she was having a tough time breathing. She paused in a dark alley to try and catch her breath.

'I have to get my kitten...ugh,' she spatted out blood which interrupted her train of thought for a moment then worry and fear pushed her to begin moving again, 'I don't have much time left,' she muttered breathlessly to her kitten who slept undisturbed in her arms.

Three hours prior...

"Wake up," a cloaked figured growled in her ear suddenly.

Waking groggily, the exhausted she kat snarled, "keep your tail on, Dark Krud." She struggled to her feet and stood glaring at the huge tom. "What the heck do you want with me at this late hour," she demanded, realizing it was after eleven pm.

He ignored her question. "Now that you're up, I came to tell you I have no need for your services any longer," he rumbled coldly.

"Finally...wait...what's the catch," she asked suspiciously then looked around herself hurriedly. "Where's my kitten?" She demanded, fear and anger in her voice.

"It's staying with me."

"NO! You can't do that...I...I won't let you!" She screamed, terror clutching at her heart.

Dark Kat just stared at her coldly. "I'm giving you your freedom! Why would you want to be saddled with that thing? Either you leave your kitten or I kill you and the kitten is left without you anyway. I don't want you softening my future minion, so choose...stay and die or leave here alone!" He said flatly.

She stared into his cold, implacable face and shuddered. It was a terrible choice. 'I have to do something. I can't just leave my kitten in that creature's care,' she thought, frantically trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, she remembered something, it was risky but it might be her only chance.

Swallowing nervously, she pretended defeat as she asked, "alright, you win but could I have just one more night with my kitten before I go?" She kept her head bowed and prayed.

Dark Kat stared at her thoughtfully, but didn't fear this female could do anything about what he planned, so what was one night lost anyway? "Agreed. Don't think to trick me though," he warned coldly then handed over the bundle he had been hiding behind his back like a sack of potatoes, shoving it into her arms and giving her one last hard look.

She nodded her understanding, not daring to say anything more. Satisfied, Dark Kat turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Hugging her kitten close, she retreated back to her filthy bed and carefully checked her it over. It was unharmed and sleeping. Relieved, she made for the door of her room, pulled it open slowly and looked out, no one was around. Dark Kat had disappeared somewhere within his hideout.

Taking a deep breath for courage, she slipped out of the room and made her way carefully through his hideout, avoiding the creeplings and ninjas, until she reached the outside. Looking around, she murmured to herself, 'alright, here goes nothing,' then began running, never looking back.

Some two hours later...

Running halfway across town, staying to all the shadowed ways to avoid being seen had exhausted her, but she had succeeded in reaching within a mile of Enforcer Headquarters.

'Almost there,' she thought, relieved to be reaching safety, but was unaware that she had not escaped unnoticed as she'd hoped.

"Stop or I will kill you!" A voice warned from not too far away.

Shocked and frightened, she turned her head to see one of Dark Kat's minions had followed her and was aiming a gun from the end of the alley behind her.

'No! I'm so close...mustn't let them get me,' was her only thought as she ignored his command and fled out of the alley as fast as she could.

Five shots fired from a silencer, with only the sharp 'phut' to indicate anything had happened raced toward her. Three bullets struck the alley walls but two managed to strike her dead on.

"Ahhh..." she screamed, stumbling but managing to keep her feet, turning the corner onto a well lighted street and just ahead was a welcome sight...an enforcer cruiser had parked and the pair of officers were getting some coffee at an all night stand. Her shooter stopped at the alley mouth and hissed angrily at the sight of the enforcers, then turned to run back down the alley before he was seen.

Present moment...

"Bill!" Sgt Taskar shouted to his partner who had his back to him, "call a bus..." He dropped his coffee and ran down the sidewalk.

His partner turned to ask, "what for...holy Kats! This is enforcer unit ten, need a bus at Fourth and Lexor stat!" He shouted into his radio as he too ran down the sidewalk.

Sgt Taskar was just reaching the female he'd seen staggering down the sidewalk, blood dripping from her chest and over the bundle she clutched tightly in her arms. Her legs collapsed under her just as he got close. He leaped to keep her from hitting the hard cement sidewalk.

Holding her gingerly in his arms, Sgt Taskar tried to stop the bleeding with a handkerchief from his pocket while trying to offer the victim comfort. "Easy...just try to breathe slowly and hold on...an ambulance is on its way...try not to die, your kitten needs you."

She gave him a sad smile then winced in pain as she raised her kitten up to the officer. "Doesn't matter about me...cough...take care of my kitten...uhh...read the letter in its blanket," she managed to gasp out.

The officer's face was grim as he asked gently, "who did this to you?"

Blood spilled from her lips as she choked out, "Dark...Kat…" Her breath went out in a sigh and she went still.

His partner was at his side looking down anxiously and watching for the ambulance. "Is she okay?"

Sgt Taskar looked up, a sad expression on his face, "she's gone." He gently laid her body on the sidewalk then took the crying kitten into his arms.

"Shhh, easy little one, we'll take care of you."

Less than twenty minutes later...

"This is Kats Eye News with a shocking report. Earlier this evening, an unknown female was fatally shot. She died in the arms of the enforcer patrol that had found her and her one month old kitten, held tightly in her paws..." Ann Gora was saying in her mike as she stood a short distance from the scene.

Behind her, Commander Feral was getting a report from his officers on what had happened. He'd been sound asleep when he got the call about the homicide. Normally, his night shift would handle this but he'd been told Dark Kat was involved. That had gotten his attention and him out of bed at nearly two in the morning.

The kitten was mercifully quiet and sleeping once more in Sgt Taskar's arms while he and his partner made their report. His eyes strayed to where the body of the female was being zipped into a coroners bag.

"So this female had no ID, was shot twice in the body, and left a note with her kitten before she died...have I got this right, sergeant?" Feral asked, his notebook out as he checked what he'd written down.

"Yes sir. Here's the letter she left and her last words were 'Dark Kat' when I asked her who shot her," Sgt Taskar said grimly, handing the note over to his superior.

His face grim, Feral took the note and quietly read it. Folding it up again he sighed and stared unhappily down at the kitten. He hated complications and this kitten was a big one. Apparently, the dead mother and her kitten meant something to Dark Kat and he would have to find a way to prevent that creep from finishing what he started with this little one. But where could he hide it where no one would find it.

"Kitten Protective Services would have been the right place but under these circumstances...," he mused aloud.

"He'd look there first," the sergeant agreed grimly.

Feral glanced at the officer speculatively but the sergeant raised his paws.

"Uh uh...sorry sir but I have two kittens of my own!" He objected quickly.

His Commander sighed again, thinking furiously on where was safe enough for this kitten then came up with the most unlikely of places and an even more unlikely pair of toms but it could work, despite how much he disliked the idea.

"Alright, I'll take it from here. Say nothing to no one about the kitten and I'll find a safe hideout for it, " he said gruffly to the two officers. They nodded gravely back and watched the powerful tom gingerly take the tiny bundle into his massive arms.

"Go back to your patrol," he ordered. They hurriedly took off avoiding the news crews that tried to stop them.

The ambulance, fire department and coroner's van had all departed. As Feral headed for his own cruiser, he was halted by Ann Gora and her camerakat.

"Commander Feral! Can you tell our audience what happened here tonight and what will become of the orphaned kitten?" She demanded, holding the mic to his face.

Scowling and making sure the kitten's face stayed hidden, he barked, two words he was famous for, "no comment!" Sighing in annoyance, Ann backed off knowing full well the Commander would not be saying anything more.

Feral climbed into his enforcer cruiser holding the kitten carefully against his chest. He wished he had a carseat as he would have to hold the kitten and drive, not a good thing but it couldn't be helped. Closing the door on the nosy press, he started the engine and drove off.

Megakat Salvage Yard...

Chance Furlong was sound asleep and his partner, Jake had only just gone to bed after doing some late night work on his weapon's designs, a couple of hours ago.

Their sleep was rudely interrupted by a loud horn honking in the yard. Chance jarred awake, nearly falling out of bed as he tried to gather his wits. The horn continued to blare. "What the heck! Who the hell would be here at this hour?" He growled aloud, grabbing his alarm clock and noting it was just after three am in the morning.

He stumbled to his feet and dragged on his clothes. As he dashed out of his room, his partner was already halfway to the stairs that lead down to the garage. He pounded after him so that both of them arrived pretty much at the same time at the ground floor.

Jake quickly disengaged the security system and unlocked the door, flipping on the outside light.  
He stepped outside with Chance on his heels, both staring in consternation at the sight of Feral standing next to his rig, holding something in one arm against his chest.  
Eyeing him with anger and suspicion, Chance stepped forward, arms crossed over his chest belligerently. "What the heck are you doing here at this time of night, Commander?"

"Yeah! To what do we owe this unexpected visit," Jake growled.

What Feral said next shocked the two of them, leaving their mouths gaping. "I need your...help," the big tom said unhappily, still thinking this wasn't a really good idea.

Jake was the first to break the sudden silence. "Crud! Why the heck would you want our help?"

"Because I have an offer you can't refuse. I'll drop a quarter of the debt you owe me if you'll do this favor for me," Feral said grimly.

"And just what do we have to do to earn this special deal?" Chance asked suspiciously.

"All you have to do is take care of something very precious," Feral said moving from around his vehicle and deposited the small bundle into the surprised tabby's paws.

Chance looked down into the warm pawful and stared in shock at a tiny face. His head jerked up and stared at Feral in questioningly shock.

"You're kidding?" He blurted.

"I wish I was. This little ones mother was murdered on the street by Dark Kat. I don't know yet why he did it. All I do know is he will be looking for this kitten and there is no where I can leave it that it wouldn't be discovered. Believe me, if there was I certainly wouldn't be entrusting such a precious cargo to you. However, I really don't have a choice," Feral explained. It's either you or the orphanage where it will endanger the other kittens just by being there."

The two toms could only stare at him then back at the kitten then at each other.

"Uh...what do you think Jake. I mean we're not the parenting type but we can't let something happen to it either," Chance said, feeling really out of his depth here.

Jake grimaced then sighed. "No, we can't abandon it." He looked up into Feral's concerned face and for the first time realized this was very hard for the Commander as well. "Okay, Commander we'll do it but keep your offer we don't want to be beholden to you for doing what's right.."

Feral sighed and nodded. He pulled an envelope from his coat and handed it over. This was left by the mother.

Jake took it and read, "so his name is Grey Pawson."

"By the way, you need to officially adopt him so that no one suspects anything," Feral added.

Chance rolled his eyes, "oh now wait a minute..." he objected.

Feral shook his head and said firmly, "take or leave it!"

"Uh, this implies we are taking this little guy as ours for good and I'm not so sure that's in his best interest, Commander," Jake chimed in.

"I don't care. For right now, to keep him alive, this is what we have to do. Adoption will keep anyone from guessing where he came from. No one knows about where he is but me. Dark Kat will be a threat for his whole life. Give me another option and I'll take it!" Feral said sincerely.

"Uh..." Chance looked at his partner, helplessly.

Jake's shoulder's slumped in defeat. He hated being back into a corner but it seemed Feral was right, this kitten's life was in their paws no matter how much it complicated their lives from now on.

"Okay, you win Commander."

"Trust me! I don't feel like I've won anything. I still have to figure out why a she-kat is dead and how Dark Kat figures into it," Feral said sourly. He turned away and went back to his vehicle, climbing in then starting the engine. Giving the pair one final look through his window, he left the yard.

Watching the cruiser leave, the two stood there in disbelief for some minutes before finally walking back into the garage.

When Jake had locked up and reset the alarm, they stood and stared at the bundle in Chance's arms.

The kitten was a gray-white color with red stripes on its tiny arms and a thatch of red hair on its head.

"Looks like we're parents, buddy," Chance said quietly, unsure what to do now.

"Yeah, looks like it. Hello...son," Jake said, still shaken by this turn of events.

Little Grey Pawson had found his way into the hearts and lives of two of the most important toms of the city. It's new life would be very interesting from now on


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first fan fic, please be kind with your reviews. Criticism is welcome but no flaming, please. Thank you Ulyferal for being my beta. With her help the first two chapters have been redone. Hope you enjoy what I've written. **

New Born Kat

Chapter 1: Past Nightmares

**Fourteen years later...**

_"Where the heck am I?" Grey wondered, looking around him but seeing nothing but darkness. He felt very confused. "How did I get here?"_

"Hello…anybody there...hello," he called out in a scared voice, though he wasn't certain why he was scared in the first place since he wasn't afraid of the dark in the first place but this place just felt wrong somehow. "How did I wake up here….and where's here?" He asked himself, beginning to panic a little.

After standing there for several minutes trying to figure out where he was, he decided that was unproductive. "Won't get any answers just standing here, so I better start walking to find some answers," he said to himself.

But as he moved off in no particular direction, the darkness failed to change and it was hard to just keep walking in the dark but he felt there had to be something or someone nearby, so he pressed on. He's been walking for what seemed like an eternity and was actually getting annoyed which was better than being scared.

"Damn it….I should have felt a wall by now," he growled. He was about to stop and study his situation again when he heard whispers ahead.

"Finally…HELLO" he yelled, but no one responded. "Maybe they didn't hear me," he thought, running towards the whispers.

The more closer he got, the louder the whispers. Soon it seemed to pound against his ears even though it wasn't loud. "Stop it!" He bellowed but the whispering only got stronger and more persistent. He put his paws over his ears to try and stifle it to no avail. "Stop it," he whimpered in pain and fear.

He halted and would go no further, ears still covered, he closed his eyes and screamed, "STOP IT!" To his shock the whispers instantly ceased. Hesitantly, he uncovered his ears...no sound...then he opened his eyes. He was greeted by a surprising sight. Standing in front of him was a female who was a mirror of him with fur the same color, down to the red stripes on her arms

Stunned, he could only stare at first but when she said nothing, he spoke hesitantly, "Umm…hi."

The she kat didn't respond, just stared a moment then turned around and walked away from him. Shocked, he hurried after her, calling out, "hey…where are you going?"

She kept walking, without saying a single word. "Miss, do you know where we are?" He tried again but she continued to ignore him.

Grey doggedly followed her as she kept on walking. It seemed like hours the two of them marched along and he began to wonder how he was going to get out of here.

He began to question his sanity in following this female. Sighing, he muttered, "why did I follow her, she doesn't talk to me or tells me where the hell we are...we just keep walking...maybe I should of..."

Suddenly his personal conversation was interrupted by a soft voice saying, "I'm happy you're safe Grey."

Grey froze in mid step and stared after her still moving form. "Did she just call me by my name...no she couldn't have...I must be hearing things now...but just in case..." He called out to her, "what did you just say?"

For the first time since all this began, she halted and turned around. "I said I'm happy you're safe Grey," she repeated easily.

"How did you know my name? I didn't tell you!" He demanded.

Before she could reply, they heard an evil laugh drift up from behind her. She whirled around as I tried to see into the dark. Suddenly, a hooded kat with purple fur appeared just a few feet from the she-kat.

"Who the heck is this?" He wondered. Looking at the she-kat he was suddenly worried and afraid as she was shaking, arms wrapped protectively around her chest. "Why is she so afraid of him?"

"Glad I found you." The hooded Kat said coldly. "You shouldn't have run away." Stepping forward, suddenly, the huge tom lunged at her. Crying out in fear, the she-kat attempted to make a run for it, but he was fast and managed to snatch her around the neck.

He raised her off her feet, strangling her, as he hissed a question, "where is it?"  
"Hey let here go!" Grey shouted, shocked by the way things were going. He rushed forward to try and knock the hooded tom down.

But, when he tried to tackle him, he passed right through the pair as if they weren't there at all. Shocked, he jumped to his feet and whirled back to the pair. He stared in confusion...they hadn't moved. "What the hell! Did I really pass through him?" He wondered in bewilderment. Thinking that was impossible, he charged the tom again but the same thing happened.

Even more confused, he wondered if was losing his sanity. "What's going on? I can't land a single punch at him. It's as if I'm a ghost or something."

Movement dragged him from his confused thoughts and back at the pair once more. To his horror, the hooded kat dropped the she kat to the ground and pulled out a gun.

"Wait...she didn't do anything, let her go!" Grey cried out in shock and fear, but the hooded kat ignored his plea.

"If you don't tell me where it is, I'm going to kill you" the scary tom demanded coldly, aiming the gun to the she-kat's head. She didn't answer only spit at him.

"I'm giving you three seconds to tell me...1..." he growled. Grey couldn't do anything but watch in horror.

"Wait... stop!" Gray begged him.

"2" the tom said implacably. "3... times up!" the hooded tom said flatly then shot her.

Grey screamed, "NO!" But it was over and the she-kat lay dead on the floor. Tears flowing from his eyes, he stared at the hooded Kat and whispered in shock, "you killed her!"

The hooded kat turned and faced him. A cold smile lit his lips as he said, "Ah, there you are."  
He lifted his gun up and aimed at Grey.

"Move…move" Grey stared in horror and ordered himself to move but he couldn't make his body obey him.

"Goodbye," the huge tom said, coldly and fired.

"Nooooo!" He screamed, closing his eyes.  
  
With his scream fading in his ears, he panted then realized he was still breathing. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself in his own bed, in his own room.

"Just a dream…it was just a dream," he murmured, shaking his head. His body shook and he was sweating. "Not again…why do these nightmares haunt me?" He whispered aloud. Looking over at his clock, he saw it was four in the morning. He was surprised Jake hadn't dashed in to see if he was alright. He must not have been as loud as he thought, this time. Relieved by that as he didn't want to wake his fathers, he sighed and tried to go back to sleep but guessed he would be staring at the ceiling the rest of the night just as he had every time this happened.


	3. Chapter 2

New Born Kat

Chapter 2: Grey

Looking up at the ceiling he thought about his dream and the mysterious she kat.

'Why do I always dream of her?' he wondered, laying on his bed thinking.

He was so very tired but unfortunately, that wasn't unusual of late as he regularly had a nightmare at least once a week but, over the past couple of weeks, the nightmares had been occurring more frequently and he didn't know why.

And in every dream, that odd she kat figured prominently. That confused him, since he didn't recall ever meeting her but during the dreams he felt a very strong connection to her. Who was she? A relative? Someone he met in the past when he was very young?

No answers came to him in the dark. It bugged him a lot but knew obsessing about it interfered with his day to day living so had learned to shove it into the back of his mind. However, tonight's dream had a frightening addition...a strange hooded kat who had killed the she kat and had tried to do the same to him. Who the heck was he? But he was just one more added to the growing list of questions that plague him about this mystery.

Sighing to himself he growled aloud, "no point in laying here...might as well get up," He sat up and shoved his bedding off. Getting to his feet he headed to the shower with his street clothes in paw. It was only five-thirty in the morning and school wasn't until eight-thirty...didn't matter...at least he wasn't being hunted down by those crazy dreams if he was up and awake. Being up so early just meant he would have plenty of time for a long wash.

Hanging up his clothes on a hook on the door, he turned toward the shower and cranked on the cold water. His fathers thought him weird but he didn't care, he just loved to wash in cold rather than hot water. He stepped in and began to soap away the sweat of his bad dreams.

When he was done, he put on a black sweater, a short-sleeved, red t-shirt under it, and a pair of baggy jeans. Ready for the day, he headed toward the kitchen thinking of grabbing breakfast but when he got there, he realized he wasn't particularly hungry. He turned away and went to the living room to watch some TV until time to leave.

Surfing the channels, he came across the morning news. "This is Ann Gora standing in front of the Megakat City Bank where the Metallikats had tried to steal millions of dollars last night, but, once again the SWAT Kats had foiled their plan and saved the city's money."

Ann started walking toward the building where Commander Feral and his enforcers were cleaning up the mess created during the battle and subsequent, escape by the Metallikats. Walking up to Feral, An shoved the mic in his face and asked, "Commander Feral! Aren't you glad the SWAT Kats were able to keep the city's money from being taken?"

Feral grimaced sourly. "I'd be more glad if they would stay out of enforcer business. They have saved the money but they let the Metallikats get away and if I..."

Gray snorted and switched away from that channel before being forced to listen to more of Feral's '...why should we arrest the Swat Kats" speech. Honestly, he really tired of hearing it even though he didn't blame the Commander for feeling put out...again.

He didn't hate the big enforcer...actually, he felt sorry for the tom having to put up with being made a fool in front of everyone, having his authority question often, and the fact the public trusted the SWAT Kats more than they did the enforcers. It especially must burn his tail to have the public feel the vigilantes were a better protector of the city than himself.

Sighing, he continued to channel surf for something better to watch when he heard yawning and footsteps coming down the hallway. No surprise, his father, Jake was the first to appear followed a few minutes later by a grumbling Chance who hated Monday mornings.

His poor alarm clock bore the brunt of his dislike rising early on Mondays and it didn't improve the rest of the week, either.

They hadn't noticed him yet nor the depression that hung over him like a cloud. However, it didn't Jake long to sense something was wrong. Frowning in concern, the lighter built tom walked up to him and gently raised his chin with his paw to study Grey's eyes.

Neither spoke for a moment then Jake asked, softly, "what's wrong, Grey. You look a little down this morning."

"I'm fine," Grey assured him. He didn't want his fathers to worry about him. He tried a rather weak smile which Jake wasn't buying, but seeing Grey didn't want to talk about it, he released his son's chin and gave him a quick ruffle of his hair before moving off to the kitchen.

Grey wasn't happy about lying to his fathers, but he just didn't want to talk about his dreams at all.

Giving Grey a brief smile, Chance followed his partner into the kitchen. Jake was poking around in the fridge and came out with two cans of milk.

Tossing one to Chance, who caught it with ease, Jake leaned against the counter and said in a low voice, "Chance, our son has been having nightmares more frequently lately. I can hear him moaning early in the morning. I try to get him to open up about them, but he's not willing to discuss it."

"I wasn't aware those things were still plaguing him. What would you like me to do about it?" Chance asked, concerned and uncertain what he could do about this problem.

"Well, since he won't talk to me, I thought, perhaps, he might open up to you. Would you give it a try?"

Chance halted with the can of milk near his mouth. Sighing, he lowered the can and stared at his friend in dismay. "Jake, you know he doesn't like talking to me about things like that. You handle all the emotional stuff and I just take care of all the other stuff like how to treat a she-kat and working on cars."

"I know, but he's shut down with me. Most likely he doesn't want us to worry but this isn't something that can be ignored. It will soon begin to affect him at school and here in the garage so we need to know what's troubling him," Jake persisted.

Chance groaned but nodded. "Okay, I'll try and see if I can get it out of him.

"Thank's buddy. I knew I could count on you," Jake said, a relieved look on his face. "Oh, here you go," he said, handing over some keys.

The tabby blinked in confusion as he took the keys. He frowned at Jake questioningly.

"You'll take him to school today and for the rest of the school year," Jake said, smirking a little as he turned away and left the kitchen.

Passing through the living room, he gave Grey a wish for a good day and said Chance would take him to school before heading downstairs to the garage.

Grey was surprised at that as he turned the TV off and rose as Chance entered the room, giving him a weak grin. "Ok, let's you and me head out."

"Sure," Grey said, a little confused as he hefted his backpack and followed Chance out to the truck.

Climbing in and buckling his belt he turned his head and started to ask what was going on.

But the tabby shook his head, shrugged and said, "don't ask!" Leaving Grey still confused as the truck started and Chance began to drive out of the yard.


	4. Chapter 3

New Born Kat

Chapter 3: Conversation

Chance was a little uncertain how he would go about getting his son to open up about these bad dreams he'd been having. This would be his first time attempting to have a father/son chat.

He was stuck on how to start the conversation so really didn't say anything while driving. He was unsure if he could do this or not, but wasn't going to give up either.

'Now how the hell does one start this kind of conversation?' He thought, glancing to the side at Grey who was looking at the sky, not really paying attention to anything just lost in his own thoughts.

He brought the truck to a halt at a red light. 'Okay, just talk to him...how hard can it be, and besides it's just a simple conversation.' Giving a pep talk to himself.

"So Grey..." he began, slowly. Grey snapped out of his thoughts, he turned around a little surprised that Chance was talking to him.

With Grey's full attention on him, Chance found himself stumbling around for the right thing to say. "Umm uh...you know what, never mind," he said, giving up the attempt, turning his attention back on the road ahead while Grey shrugged, looking back out the window again.

'Yeah, simple my ass,' Chance thought, disgusted with himself. For the next few miles, he tried to think of what he could say to open this conversation. 'Ugh! Why is this so hard?'

They arrived at the school some thirty minutes early so Chance could park right in front. He was annoyed with himself for not having the guts to have a heart to heart talk with his son. 'I'm such an idiot!' He berated himself.

Grey grabbed his backpack and was about to leave the truck but paused to glance over at Chance in concern. His father looked troubled as he stared straight ahead through the windshield. 'What's grabbed his tail?' He wondered.

Grey placed one of his paws on Chance's shoulder, "Hey dad, are you okay?"

Chance jerked in reaction, turning his head to stare at his son in surprise. "Um what…oh uh yeah I'm okay just a little tired," he stumbled, giving Grey a weak smile which didn't convince his son at all but Grey didn't push.

They stared at each other uncomfortably for several seconds before Grey broke the silence by saying, "okay, ...um...see ya later...bye." He opened the truck door and hopped out.

"Yeah, goodbye!" Chance said as the door began to close and waved a paw farewell.

He watched Grey walk off. He groaned at himself and slapped his face. "Why me?" Finally, he shook himself and drove off for home again.

As Grey walked toward the school, his mind was on how weird his father was acting. He was confused at why he drove him to school rather than Jake, who'd had always done it. "Maybe, Jake had something else to do but still..." he shook his head and pushed the oddness of the morning and his fathers behavior to the back of his mind.

He glanced at the clock tower that stood in the middle of the school quad. It read 8:02 which meant he had twenty-eight minutes before he had to be in class. This left him with nothing much to do until then. After a moments thought, he opened his backpack and pulled out a book then headed toward a tree to sit and read.

He was in his third year, which was quite unusual for someone only fourteen years old. But he was quite brilliant and with extra tutelage from Jake, he was far ahead of his fellow students which was why he was close to finishing school while his peers were just starting.

This meant he had started high school when he was just eleven years old. Unfortunately, as happened to those rare progenies, he was out of place among kittens so much older than him. This made him the target for many a cruel comment and treatment by his fellow classmates who couldn't tolerate being shown up by someone so much younger than they.

Of course, this meant, Grey didn't have very many friends and far too many enemies so, consequently, he hated being in school at all. Jake did his best to help him deal with the stress as he had the same problems through school and could relate.

Grey thought, if it hadn't been for his father, Jake's understanding, he would have blown off school by now and gotten into deep trouble with the law by now.

Sighing at his morbid thoughts, he cracked open his book and was soon drawn into a world of horror. He was so engrossed, he hadn't realized that someone had been watching him for some minutes.

Suddenly, he was tackled from the side and sent sprawling beside the tree trunk, his book flying out of his paw. He raised his paws to try and defend himself. "Oomph...hey get off me..." he growled, struggling with his attacker.

The attacker made no response as whoever it was managed to force Grey face down and pinned him.

"Hey!" Grey cried, hurting from a knee to his lower back and his arm being pulled painfully behind him.

**Authors note: Who's the mysterious figure and what does it want with Grey? Find out next time. Grey_dog out.**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Alex and The Class from Hell

_**Author's Note: Just wanted to say to those that asked, Grey doesn't know the SWAT Kats are his dads. And Thank you Ulyferal for helping me.**_

"Hey!" Grey cried, hurting from a knee to his lower back and his arm being pulled painfully behind him. He'd been caught off guard so his attacker had been able to pin him easily.

He couldn't see the kat holding him down but could tell he was built, had some reason to do this, and smelled... 'wait I know that smell from somewhere...(sniff)... yep, it's him, alright!' He thought, relaxing as he realized there was no danger.

A smiled crossed his face as he went along with the game. "Please don't hurt me! I'll give you my lunch money but don't hurt me," he whined, adding some fake cries to the act. The attacker seemed to buy it and let Grey go immediately. As soon as he did, Grey grabbed his attacker's paw and flipped him.

"Oomph!" The tom whoofed out as he hit the tree that was close to them, promptly knocking the poor guy out.

"Aw Crud! I overdid it again!" He hissed, angry with himself as he walked over to the unconscious tom.

"Alex are you okay…Alex…Alex… crap," Grey cursed, as he knelt down next to the tom and attempted to wake him by patting the Kat's face gently, "Alex...wakey...wakey...damn it wake up!" Fetching the tom a firm slap to the face.

That slap made Alex violently wake up. "Wha...who...how...!" Looking around anxiously, he found Grey looking down at him. "Grey! Why the hell did you flip me for no reason?" He demanded, angrily, rolling to his feet.

Grey rose to his feet as well but Alex towered over him.

Shaking his head, Grey was a little annoyed with Alex as he answered, "You attacked me is why, you jerk and I just reacted by flipping you."

"Oh, uh sorry," Alex said, a bit addled as he couldn't remember why he'd jumped Grey in the first place.

"Sorry I flipped you," Grey muttered, feeling a little guilty for throwing Alex into a tree in the first place.

"Nah, I'm the one who should be apologizing," Alex grunted, scratching his head and smiling.

"Hey how did you figure out it was me?" He asked, curious.  
"That was easy. You smell like a sweaty jock or worse...a dead carp!" He said, then took off running.

Alex stared in confusion then realized what Grey had said and tore after him, "hey, come back here you little twerp!"

Grey ignored him and kept running. Alex was actually a great guy. He was eighteen, had the same fur color as Jake and was built like Chance. He played football and was his best friend. Alex liked to think of Grey as his little brother having taken a shine to the tom for reasons Grey couldn't never figure out. But it was a good friendship as Alex was in some of Grey's classes and prevented the tom from being bullied or bothered even though he knew Grey was quite capable of defending himself.

A little later, Grey was still rubbing his head from the super-noggy Alex had bestowed on him when he'd caught him, as he entered his last period of the day, Computer and Tech - Advanced.

He absolutely hated the class but Jake had insisted he take it because he thought 'it would be good' for him to learn tech. Grey didn't fight the decision because he didn't want to hurt his dad's feelings. But he still hated the class with a passion.

The main reason wasn't just because he wasn't interested in it but because of the truly hated the teacher who treated him as if he was an idiot. Mr. Furball was such a nasty teacher that he always managed to say something that caused his classmates to hate him, except for Alex, of course. He didn't know why the teacher had it in for him but the guy made his life hell.

Because the hell the teacher caused him, Grey tried to make sure he focused so he wouldn't come under Mr. Furball's attention. Today, though, he had a hard time paying attention due to the feeling of some presence he could only feel in his mind, staring at him from a distance. He looked out the window beside him but could see nothing and still he could feel that odd presence. It was eerie, unpleasant and very distracting. Which was unfortunate.

"Mr. Pawson Clawson Furlong!" Mr. Furball snapped.

"Huh! What?" Grey sputtered, as he whipped his head back to find the teacher standing right beside him.

Mr. Furball's face had a furious look on it. His eyes had a way of seeming to peer straight through to your soul and whatever he saw always seemed to make him pissed.

"Do you mind telling me what was so interesting that you were staring out there instead of in here where your mind was supposed to be?" He demanded, coldly.

Everyone in the class was staring at Grey...some were snickering at his predicament while others were waiting for his answer.

Since he had no answer that would make anyone happy least of all Mr. Furball, he didn't answer, instead turning his gaze down at his desk and waited for the teacher to give up and leave him alone.

"Like always, you chose the coward's way out and won't even look me in the face and answer my questions," Furball scowled as he grabbed Grey by his shirt and pulled him from his seat. Switching to the tom's arm, he yanked Grey to the front of the classroom then shoved him into a seat before a broken computer. "Since you feel you don't need any instruction from me, you can fix this computer," he snapped.

Apparently, Mr. Furball had intended to teach the class how to repair a broken computer but now, it seemed, Grey was going to be the one to do it. Despite the teacher's smug assertion that Grey wouldn't know what to do and be humiliated, in point of fact, he did know how to fix it because Jake had taught him. However, he hadn't been under this much pressure before and wasn't sure if he could do it without flubbing it up.

Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Grey focused on the task and tried to ignore all the looks he was getting as he set to work. Only ten minutes later and he'd finished repairing the thing. Flicking the switch, the machine turned on perfectly.

Giving a snort, Mr. Furball sent him back to his desk then proceeded to berate the rest of the class which of course made his classmates hate him, continuing the cycle of hatred day after day. Mr. Furball seemed to delight in making off hand compliments to Grey's abilities while at the same time belittling the other students by telling them, "as you can see, a fourteen year old can fix a computer while the rest of you behave like idiots and whine like kittens."

Grey ignored the many looks of hot hatred and annoyance his classmates threw at him. He'd long since given up any idea of having friends which made Alex's friendship that much more precious to him.

His torment ended just minutes later when the school bell rang signaling the end of classes for the day. He waited until all the students had left before putting on his sweater, grabbing his backpack and leaving himself.

However, he didn't quite make it through the door before Mr. Furball was blocking the door, preventing him from leaving.

"You're just lucky you knew how to do that, you little trash Kat," he hissed, hatefully. Illegally calling him names and threatening him.

Grey was used to this treatment so made to push past the angry teacher, but Furball grabbed him by his sweater and yanked him back violently causing him to hit his back against the door.

Furball leaned close to his face either to say something else equally nasty at him or hit him, he wasn't sure which when Alex suddenly appeared in the hall outside.

"Hey, Grey are you ..." he halted in shock as he saw the teacher holding Grey.

Annoyed at the interruption, Furball released Grey, shoving him out the door then giving them both a cold stare, he slammed his door shut.

Grey shuddered a little in fear at that last look the teacher had given him.

"Hey are you okay," Alex asked, worried.

Grey could only nod then headed off toward the doors leading outside with Alex walking beside him.

"What did that asshole want from you anyway," Alex demanded, angry that a teacher could do something like that.

"I don't know but thanks for showing up when you did," Grey told him, smiling.

Alex gave him a smile back and said, "No problem, but you better watch yourself around him. He's apparently got a vendetta against you, though I'll be damned if I understand why."

Grey nodded again. Alex didn't have to tell him twice. Furball made him very nervous and afraid. He was very glad Alex had come along when he did because he had a bad feeling that teacher had something evil in mind for him.

They headed toward the parking lot saying nothing more.

"You need a ride home, Grey?" Alex asked as he stopped by his car.

"No thanks. One of my dad's are picking me up."

"Okay, if you're sure," Alex said, reluctant to leave the tom alone but there were still plenty of kids and teachers around so he climbed into his car and left.

Grey headed toward a strip of grass with a tree on it that lined the parking lot and sat down, leaning his back against the tree to wait. However, he shifted uneasily as that unwanted presence made itself felt again. He was beginning to wonder if he was slowly losing his mind.

Sadly, the threat he was feeling was very real as from the shadows a hooded Kat watched the young tom as he pulled out a weird type of communication device and spoke into it.

"Sir,… I found him"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Ability Unknown and Dark Kat

**AN: Thanks you Ulyferal for helping me.**

Grey was staring at the empty parking lot. Everyone else had left with their families and he was now alone. Annoyed and a little concerned, he asked himself, 'where are they… they should have been here by now?' He knew sometimes they were late but never this late.

Back at the Garage, an hour ago...

Jake was fixing a car's water pump, while his partner, Chance was laughing his head off at a Scaredy Kat cartoon. It was a marathon and since there wasn't that much work, he had been enjoying the show all morning long.

"Bha ha aha haa Scardy Kat you crack me up...Bwha ha ha ha!" Chance roared.

Jake sighed, muttering to himself, "Thirty-seven years old, with a son, and he still acts like a kitten.". Shaking his head, he refocused his attention on the vehicle he was trying to get done.

He couldn't keep all his thoughts on the job, though. His mind kept drifting to their adopted son. He remembered the last conversation he'd had with him. "Grey, I wished you'd tell me what's bothering you so I can try and help you. Keeping it to yourself only makes it worse," he'd pleaded. But the kitten just shook his head and said there was nothing wrong. Jake sighed again. 'I hope Chance can get Grey to open up otherwise, I don't know what we can do next.'

His troubled thoughts were disrupted by the sound of their special alarm. Chance was off the couch and grabbing the phone in seconds.

"What is it Ms. Briggs?" He asked, gruffly.

"T-Bone the Metallikats are robbing the city treasury," she reported, excitedly.

"Were on our way," T-Bone told her quickly then hung up.

He helped Jake close the garage door and set out the 'out on a tow' note before he and his partner raced down into their hangar to change. They were soon flying out their secret entrance and heading toward the treasury.

On the way, though, Razor voiced a concern. "T-Bone, I'm worried about leaving Grey waiting at the school so long..."

"He's a big kitten, Razor. He'll be okay until we can get him, don't worry so much," T-Bone reassured his partner as he concentrated on his flying.

"I guess you're right," the smaller SWAT Kat responded but in his heart, he felt a strange flutter of fear that something was going to happen to Grey and no matter how hard he tried to shake it off it wouldn't go away.

It had been hard over the years they raised Grey, to hide their double life but somehow they had managed however, it had taken a lot of creativity. When their son was a kitten they'd had a kindly neighbor, who had kittens of her own, take care of him when they had to be away, either for a tow or a SWAT Kat mission. This worked fairly well, except at night. Fortunately, there were few if any night time calls and when they went on patrol, Razor used a special device to monitor their son in his specially designed nursery that had all manner of security devices to protect him from harm.

When he got older and began school, the same neighbor would pick him up along with her own kittens and keeping him until Jake and Chance closed their shop for the day. They, of course, paid her for her services even though their budget was rather tight. Feral, surprisingly, would subsidized the funds for that since he did feel guilty about leaving the kitten there.

By the time Grey entered junior high and high school, he was old enough to have a little more freedom and was allowed to stay with friends, ride home with them, or catch the bus back to the yard unless they planned on picking him up.

Fortunately for keeping their secret identities secret, Grey wasn't that curious about the garage and its hidden hangar below ground, much to his father's relief. But they wouldn't be so relieved if they knew it was because their son was very troubled. So life went on fairly simply for Grey and his father's until now.

While his adopted fathers were fighting the Metallikats, their son was trying to come up with reasons for their tardiness. Though it wasn't unusual for them to be late, they did try not to be.

'Maybe they got a late tow and hadn't got back yet. Hope they didn't get themselves in accident the way Chance drives,' he thought with a sigh.

Suddenly, he felt again the presence from before but, this time it felt closer and a lot stronger which sent shivers down his spine.

Usually, all he felt was uneasy by this unknown presence, but this time he began to feel cold and his limbs felt week. This made no sense since it was a warm day and he'd not done anything to warrant being so tired and weak. His nervousness increased making him breath faster as he felt the odd presence getting closer and closer to him.

Fear began to thrum through him as he attempted to get to his feet and found he couldn't, pitching head first toward the ground in front of him instead, the world getting darker before his eyes. The last thing he saw was a dark figure coming towards him then the sensation of his body being picked up.

He couldn't see the stranger's face clearly due to his vision failing. It felt like he was being held in Chance's arms so he stopped fighting the darkness and slipped away.

The one holding him wasn't his father. A cold smile crossed the stranger's lips as he carried his burden away.

Some time later, Grey slowly opened his eyes. He was laying on what felt like a bed but the room definitely wasn't his bedroom. Confused he muttered, "Um…whe...where am I?"

"Ah…I see you're awake," a cold voice said from behind Grey's head.

Startled, Grey jerked upright and turned his head toward the voice, his eyes beholding a huge creature who really didn't look much like a Kat because he was colored purple had strange glowing yellow eyes with a mouth that was all fangs. He was wearing a black hooded clock trimmed in red with an odd chain hooked to a symbol on his left shoulder and under this he wore a huge, thick gray robe with gray boots. The creature held a can with an odd gold head piece that he couldn't make out in his one paw. He shuddered and pressed backward on the bed at the terrible sight.

"Don't be alarmed! I'm only here to talk to you," the creature rumbled, a strange wicked smile on its odd face. It terrified Grey.

"Who… who are you and what do you want with me?" He managed to stutter.

The hooded stranger just stared at him a moment before saying, "follow me and don't think to disobey." The creature turned away and made for a door, Grey hadn't noticed was there.

Too afraid to disobey, Grey quickly got off the bed and hurried after the hooded stranger. As he followed the stranger, Grey realized they were in a mountain cavern somewhere as the walls around him were bare rock with hallways and rooms carved in it like the one he woke up in. As they walked, he saw strange Kats dressed in one piece black outfits. He realized they were a type of ninja. The worst thing he come upon were pink horrors with sharp claws, teeth, and wings that made loud chittering noises as they flew overhead.

Everything here was frightening but he did his best to hide his fear. Showing such weakness, he had a feeling would be very bad around this stranger.

Finally the hooded creature stopped at a door. He opened it and stepped through, calling over his shoulder, "come in."

Grey really didn't want to go in but knew he couldn't disobey so hesitantly stepped over the threshold and into the room.

The room was huge and was done up like an apartment...sort of...if you happened to be a mad scientist. Grey shuddered as he looked cautiously around. There was a perfectly ordinary kitchen, probably a bathroom and bedrooms were down the small hallway he could see but there wasn't a living room, per se. The rest of the room was taken up by a science lab, huge computer screen, a big bookcase full of books, another table with various weapons in different stages of development, a work desk and some finished weaponry hanging on the walls. Some overstuffed chairs sat around a small table nearby.

The place gave him the creeps. He turned his attention back on his captor and waited to see what he wanted with him. It wouldn't be good he was certain.

The strange creature made for the chairs and sat down in one. He gestured to the other one and ordered, 'take a seat."

For the first time since he woke up here, Grey refused a command. "No thanks. I feel better standing."

"I said sit down," the stranger ordered in a flat, cold voice that promised something dire if he didn't obey.

Grey shivered at the tone of voice and quickly took a seat. The stranger studied him a moment then suddenly leaned forward and grabbed a Grey's hair bringing the helpless kitten's face closer to his.

"Listen closely and listen well, when I tell you to do something, you will obey me immediately, understood?" He hissed.

Grey cringed and nodded rapidly despite how much it hurt with his hair held like that. Satisfied, the stranger released him and sat back in his chair. Grey licked his lips nervously and dared to ask, "Wha...what do you want from me?"

"You have special gifts...gifts I intend to have you learn and use," the stranger said, his eyes glittering with evil.

Grey frowned in confusion. "Gifts...what kind of gifts could I possibly have," he asked in bewilderment. "Do you mean because I'm smarter than my classmates?"

"No and yes but something much more than that," he responded.

Grey blinked at him, uncertain what he was trying to tell him when the stranger made one of those lightning moves again and grabbed his paw, pulling it toward the table. He took out a knife from somewhere and brought it up to rest over Grey's thumb.

Terrified, Grey tried to pull away, but the stranger's paw was strong. "Wait! What are you doing? NO! Stop!" Grey pleaded, tears coming to his eyes as the knife pressed down on his thumb.

But the stranger ignored him, swiftly cutting the thumb off hard enough that the knife made a loud crack as it hit the table beneath. Grey had screamed with pain as blood poured out of his severed finger. It felt like fire and the pain was incredible. Not being able to take it, he blacked out.

He was rudely wakened by cold water hitting his face. Sputtering, he gasped and struggled to bring the room into focus again. The evil stranger was now standing before him and laughing.

"It worked! Ha hah hah haha!" He crowed, seemingly proud of something.

Grey quickly looked down at his thumb, expecting the worst but was shocked and confused by the sight of his thumb back in place again. He knew it had been cut off since there was still blood all over his paw but there was no sign his thumb had been severed at all.

"What the hell! I know my thumb was cut off but now it isn't! What is going on?" Grey asked.

The stranger ignored his questions. He seemed to be thinking as he had one paw caressing his jaw in thought. "Hmm, there are some unexpected drawbacks but overall, I'm very pleased with the results," he murmured more to himself than Grey.

He pulled out a small dart gun from a pocket. "Listen up! I will be watching you and when the time is right, I'll come for you again. Meanwhile, you'll just go on like you have been..." he rumbled in satisfaction then shot a dart into Grey's leg.

'Damn…it,' Grey thought, dismayed as he was knocked out again, still uncertain why the strange person wanted him.


	7. Chapter 6

NEW BORN KAT

Chapter 6: Little White Lies

**AN: Thank you Ulyferal for been my beta reader.**

"Uhhhh" Grey groaned. 'How long was I out? Three...four hours?' He wondered as he struggled to shake off whatever drug that creep had used. Carefully opening his eyes, he tried to see if that purple Kat was still watching him but all that greeted him was darkness and silence.

He needed to get out of here, somehow, so even though he was still a bit dizzy, he slowly sat up. It was then, he realized, he was on a bed not the chair he'd been sitting in or the floor he'd most likely fallen on when that purple Kat darted him.

Putting his feet down on the floor, he pushed upward to stand then screamed as pain from the bottom of his feet seared him. He fell to the floor and curled up in agony.

'Oh God! I want to go home to my dads!' He moaned, tears running down his face as he tried to ease the pain. He prayed that psycho that had kidnapped him didn't hear his scream and cries. No way did he want to confront that creep again.

But apparently he had because the door to the room was opened with a forceful and loud bang. Grey kept his eyes shut tight, not wanting to see that strange tom again. Fear was added to the pain as he worried whether or not the creep would do further experiments on him.

However, to his shocked surprise, a pair of paws picked him up gently and pulled his body into their arms and hugged him. A very recognizable voice spoke soft words of concern near his face.

"Grey, its okay...it's me!" Chance soothed, cradling his son to his chest.

Though relieved, Grey was also confused. He opened his eyes and saw...yes...it was Chance holding him with Jake standing, worriedly, behind him. He carefully looked around the now lighted room and saw he was home and it had been his own bed he'd been laying in. But how had he gotten here?

"Grey what happen, why did you screa-,"Jake started to ask when Grey turned his head into Chance's broad chest and sobbed in relief. Confused and very worried, Jake tenderly placed a palm on the kitten's head and patted it..

It was some while before Grey could stop crying, though he still shook uncontrollably. Chance continued to hold him and rock him in his arms until the kitten relaxed finally and the shaking had eased, only then did he lay Grey back on his bed.

He and Jake sat down beside their son and eyed him worriedly.

"Grey what happened? Why did you scream?" Jake asked again, quietly.

Through redden eyes, Grey sniffed and said, "my feet! When I tried to stand up they hurt like hell!" No way did he want to worry his dads about the kidnapping nor what that creep had done to him...not yet anyway.

Jake could sense that wasn't the whole truth but didn't press the kitten right now. He turned to look at Grey's feet, carefully examining them. When he pressed on the right foot, Grey winced and tried to jerk his foot away. Jake desisted and laid the foot back down.

"I can't see anything, but perhaps you sprained them slightly when you were sleeping. It can happen occasionally. A little rubbing alcohol should take the pain away," he said, standing and leaving the room for the bathroom across the hall.

Chance eyed his son worriedly. The kitten looked like he was still in a lot of pain but Chance wasn't so sure it was just the kitten's feet that bothered him. Grey was still shivering a lot and wouldn't meet his eyes at all. Something more was wrong but until Grey was willing to talk to them, he and Jake would remain in the dark and he didn't like that at all.

Jake quickly returned with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cloth. He sat down again and gently began to treat Grey's feet.

Grey watched him and only winced a little as the smaller tom worked. He turned his head to his other father and asked, "…hey dad, how did I get here? The last thing I remember was falling asleep on the school grounds," he asked, carefully.

Chance looked a little embarrassed and raised a paw to rub his neck. "Well, we had a tow that took a long time so we were really late getting you. When we got there finally, you had fallen asleep next to a tree, so I picked you up and we took you home, putting you to bed when we got here. Sorry we were soo late."

Maybe it was all a dream then, but it sure didn't feel like one...however... "Oh...so what time did you pick me up?" Grey asked, afraid of the answer.

"Uhhh….about eight and some minutes. We're really sorry to have left you so long. It's no wonder you fell asleep. Are you hungry? You did miss dinner." Chance said.

"It's okay dad, really! And no...thanks...I'm not really hungry...had a snack while I was waiting from the vending machine," Grey said quickly. He was too upset to eat, so told a small white lie.

Again Chance didn't think the kitten was being completely truthful but didn't want to upset him any further so let it be. Jake finished his task then made Chance get up so he could cover Grey with his blankets. Chance reseated himself but Jake remained standing.

Grey didn't look at them as he thought about what had happened. It was obvious that psycho had taken him then returned him before he was missed. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't write off the past events as just a nightmare because he hadn't just 'fallen asleep' at least not without help. So everything he remembered did happen.

Whatever that creep was up to, Grey didn't want anyone else to know about it. He shuddered inside as he remembered how his thumb had been cut off and the terrible pain then the shock of finding it completely healed again. He looked down at his paws and there was no blood on them or his clothes. The creep had gone so far as to remove all evidence that it had occurred. And the fact the creep was not done with him, made him even more terrified but what could he do about it?

He didn't want to think about it right now so shoved the memories and the terror to the back of his mind. When he came back to himself, he found his dads still there watching him. He gave them a wane smile to show he was okay now.

Neither adults bought his show but, again, didn't want to upset him.

"I'll sit with him for a bit, Jake. You go on to bed," Chance said.

"Thanks," Jake said. He leaned down toward Grey and gently patted his shoulder. "Good night son, try to get some sleep now."

"I'll try dad, thanks," Grey said, softly.

Jake turned and walked out of the room then moments later the sound of a door was heard closing.

"Okay, son, try and close your eyes, I'll sit with you for a bit," Chance said, gently, reaching out to turn out the light.

Now in darkness, Grey felt the fear well up in him despite his father sitting there. He tried to ignore it but when Chance got up to leave many minutes later, he couldn't control the whimper that came out.

Before Chance could step out the door, he called out, his voice shaking a little, "dad...can I sleep with you tonight...please?"

Chance wasn't surprised by the request. Despite being nearly grown, whatever the kitten wasn't telling them, apparently had frightened him terribly. As he turned back into the room and saw a scared little kitten.

Sighing mentally, he resigned himself to not getting a whole lot of sleep himself tonight as he walked back to the bed. Tenderly, he pulled the bedding off Grey and lifted him easily into his arms without saying a word.

Cradling him close, he carried the kitten down to his room. Grey sighed, comforted by the sound of his dad's heartbeat against his ear. He could finally push the fear away and relax.

Chance reached his room and stepped in, closing the door with his foot. He walked over to the bed and laid Grey down on the left side before going around and laying on the right side himself.

Pulling the bedding over them, he sighed and tried to go to sleep, he was very tired. Suddenly, his son moved closer to him and placed his head on Chance's chest. The big tabby didn't normally sleep on his back but he didn't want to disturb Grey so sighed again and placed a paw against his son's head then finally fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Revealing the Truth and the Second Kat

**AN: Thank you Ulyferal for been my beta.**

Unfortunately for Grey, despite sleeping safely next to his father, the dream of yesterday made a comeback. However, everything was different from the first time except for the she kat being with him at the start. She smiled at him though the words she spoke didn't match the expression she wore.

"Run please… just run," she said, urgently, in a low, soft voice.

"Run? Why?" He asked, confused, as he could see no danger as yet.

She didn't say anything further, just walked to him then wrapped her arms around his shoulders to give him a warm hug. Confused, Grey hugged back, a feeling of knowing this she-kat filling him even if he'd never laid eyes on her. He burst into tears which surprised him but didn't make him stop. He felt her gently trying to comfort him by caressing his neck and murmuring to him soothingly...it felt wonderful.

"Shh it's okay….I'll always be with you," she murmured, gently, then began to slowly fade away.

"Please don't leave me," he begged her but all she said was, 'goodbye,' before she completely vanished.

He wailed, "Mom!" As he was left sobbing then he felt someone shaking him.

"Grey wake up….wake up, son!" Chance urged, worriedly, gently shaking the kitten to pull him from his nightmare. It broke his heart to hear Grey cry 'mom' over and over again in such a heartbroken voice in his sleep, tears wetting his cheeks and soaking his pillow.

"Huh...wh-what?" Grey moaned, groggily, as he forced the dream away and tried to wake up.

Still lost a bit, he struggled to sit up but something was holding the bedding. He blinked and only then realized his face was wet with tears and that his father was staring down at him in concern. He felt ashamed when he realized his father had heard him crying out.

"Grey…are you okay? Sounded like a really bad dream," Chance asked, gently, raising his son up so he could sit and keeping a paw at his back to steady the kitten while kneading Grey's neck soothingly.

That gentle, caring voice, did Grey in and let go completely, burying his face in his father's warm chest, arms wrapped tightly around the powerful torso as he sobbed out, "Dad, please make it stop!"

Chance hadn't seen his son this badly upset since he was very young. Worried even more now, he hugged the kitten close and nuzzled him while rocking back and forth. All his parental instincts on full alert. He needed to get to the bottom of this now. It was obviously too big for Grey to handle and perhaps he would finally open up to him now.

Only thing he could do was try. In a soft, gentle voice, Chance said tenderly, "ssshhh son...it's okay...I'm here and I'll always protect you no matter what the problem is. Remember Jake and I love you and you can trust us with anything. Can you tell me what's been troubling you lately?" He asked carefully.

Grey whimpered and sniffed as he tried to regain control of his emotions. When he felt more calm he leaned back enough to see his father's face.

"I'm sorry, dad...I didn't mean to keep it to myself but...I just didn't know whether to talk about it or not and so much has happened since...I..." Grey began to rattle on but his father placed a finger over his mouth to halt him.

"Easy...easy...it's alright...I don't hold that against you. Jake and I knew something was troubling you but left you alone to decide when to tell us. I'm listening if you want to tell me now," Chance said quietly, eyeing him intently.

Giving a hiccup, Grey started to wipe his face with his t-shirt but Chance forestalled him and grabbed some tissues from a box nearby. He gave a watery smile to thank his dad then blew his nose. When his head was more clear, he stared down at his paws holding the tissue trying to gather his thoughts.

"I...I lied earlier...about...about sleeping," he began, slowly.

"Oh...why did you need to do that?"

"I didn't want you two to worry to much but...someone's after me!" Grey confessed.

Chance tensed up but stayed calm and asked, "do you know who or why?"

"No, I never heard his name spoken...but...he has this weird face and purple fur..." Grey said hesitantly. He knew something was wrong when he felt his father stiffen.

The tabby's heart lurched in fear and anger. 'Dark Kat! He's found him!"

"How do you know about this Kat? Did you see him...speak with him?" Chance asked, tightly.

"He was in my dreams then yesterday, I had a strong sensation someone was watching me. Before I could get away, I was knocked out and kidnapped. I was taken somewhere and that's when I saw him in person. He...did something to me then threatened me...before darting me and returning me to the school grounds where you found me," Grey said, all in a rush.

Chance went still inside. He wanted desperately to punch something but he especially wanted to kill Dark Kat. It was difficult but he kept control of his temper. This was something he needed to talk with Jake about but there was still the matter of the dreams.

"Thank you for telling me this. Don't worry about it further for now. However, there is the matter of your dreams to deal with. Can you tell me what upset you so badly about them?" He asked.

Swallowing, Grey looked away toward the window. Dawn was peeking through the curtains. In a hesitant voice he said, softly, "I...I saw my mother...and that person... I saw him kill her. Tonight, she told me to run but never said why before she disappeared again," he paused and looked into his father's worried face. "How did I know she was my mother? I never met her...but when she hugged me in my dream...I just knew that's who it was."

"I don't know, son. I never met her. But, I'm guessing, somehow deep within us we know things there is no way we could. This must be what's going on with you. I really can't say," he said. Giving Grey another tight hug, he got up and headed for the door. He paused and looked back at Grey. "You're not going to school today, son. We'll talk some more later when you've rested. Come down later to eat when you feel up to it." With that, Chance left the kitten, closing the door behind him

Grey stared at the door for a long moment. He felt drained but relieved that he finally had told someone about his fears. His dad seemed to know something but was obviously not willing to tell him about it. He would let it go for now and allow the adults to find an answer. Right now he was just too tired. He lay down and closed his eyes, hoping this time he would get some restful sleep.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

In his hidden lair, Dark Kat was thinking about the time he'd spent with Grey. He was thoroughly pleased with the results of his little experiment. He could hardly wait to proceed with his plans but patience was indicated for a little while longer. His thoughts were interrupted by a masked ninja standing near.

"Sir! Do you think it was wise to let him go? After all, he is one of two successes from the experiment."

Another masked ninja stood quietly nearby but was smiling inside as he stared at the image of Grey. It wouldn't do to let his boss or other ninja to know he was pleased about the kitten, that would only bring him trouble.

"Fool! I know that! However, I'm not ready for him...the moment must be just right," Dark Kat snapped at him. "Where's the other kitten?"

"I sent him to watch his little brother, Grey….I hope he doesn't do anything stupid," the ninja sniffed in annoyance.

"Then you better keep an eye on them both. I don't want anything to happen to either until I'm ready for them," Dark Kat growled.

Suddenly, the other ninja who'd been standing so quiet, spoke up, "sir, how are you going to get him to join us?" He wanted to meet Grey again, the kitten reminded him of Grey's mother.

"He either joins willing or I have his mind wiped and fill it with what I want him to know," Dark Kat said coldly.

The ninja who'd asked, felt sick inside, 'the bastard...to do that to a kitten...' he thought in horror and disgust. He kept his feelings firmly hidden which was smarter than his companion who made the mistake of correcting their boss.

"You mean fill his head with the lies," the other smirked and received a punch to the right of his head which sent him flying to the floor for his temerity.

"Never correct me!" DK hissed flatly then turned away from them.

"Yes …sir" the fallen kat said weakly. The other ninja quickly helped the injured Kat to leave the room.

Alone again, Dark Kat returned to the table and picked up the two pictures of the kittens under discussion. He studied them for some minutes before muttering to himself, "I'm a little surprised that idiot managed to breed so successfully, but at least he and that other one did present me with too very fine specimens!"

He stared at Grey's image a moment longer before looking at the second image. This kitten had black fur with a thatch of blue hair on his head. He was well built though lean and his eyes were a deadly ice blue.

"Soon both will meet each other," he said, pleased with the prospect.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Commander and The Letter

**AN: Thank you Ulyferal for being my beta.**

Grey woke up later that morning, feeling marginally better. He looked at the time and nearly panicked as he thought he was late for school then remember Chance had told him he wasn't going. He also recalled, his dad was going to talk to Jake about what he'd told them as well.

Not wanting to really rehash that memory again, he got dressed and went to the bathroom to wash up. Finished, he headed downstairs to the kitchen, sort a hoping he wouldn't see anybody until he'd had a chance to eat first.

As he turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs to head for the kitchen, he froze at the sight of his dads talking to a really big tom whose back was to him near the stairs that led down to the garage.

The three were talking in low voices, the strangers was a deep baritone. He didn't know if he should just go ahead to the kitchen or go to their side or, the one he voted for, going back upstairs until the guy left.

Before he could make up his mind, though, Jake spotted him and glanced over at him which made the other two stop talking and turning to look as well.

Grey was stunned to see the stranger was none other than Commander Feral, who eyed him oddly.

"Grey... go eat something...there's milk in the fridge...we'll talk to you in a little while," Jake told him softly, offering him a weak smile.

Nodding, Grey turned away and headed for the kitchen. He could feel the Commander's eyes on his back as he left the room. He wondered why Feral was here in the first place as he went to the fridge and opened it up.

He really didn't feel like eating so grabbed a can of milk and shut the fridge. Hoping they'd left the living room, he went to the doorway and peered out. To his relief the three weren't there so he was able to head for the couch to watch some TV. He grabbed the remote once he'd dropped down on the cushions and began to flick through the stations. From downstairs he could hear their voice muttering but couldn't make out the words.

He gave up trying to hear the conversation and turned his attention back to the TV. He was watching a Scaredy Kat cartoon when his fathers called him. He turned off the set and went downstairs to the waiting room of the garage and was greeted by the three males eyeing him.

Uncomfortable silence followed his arrival and he shifted his shoulders nervously waiting for someone to speak. He was surprised. when it was Feral.

"You've grown quite a bit since I saw you last, Grey," he said, gruffly.

Grey blinked in surprise, "how do you know me?"

Feral sighed. "I was the one who met you first and was responsible for giving you over to these two to be raised. I must say, they didn't do too bad a job of it."

Jake and Chance blinked in surprise at the unexpected compliment from the normally taciturn tom. Grey didn't know the Commander at all except by reputation and the TV so wasn't aware that he was actually more forthcoming with information than was his wont.

"Uh, I guess I should thank you then..." Grey said hesitantly.

"Not necessary." Feral grunted. "I'm here because your fathers have told me something very serious has happened to you. I need to ask you some questions about what happened so I can deal with it."

Nervously, Grey nodded but was still hesitant to discuss it. He glanced over at his fathers questioningly, both gave him a nod to go ahead and tell Feral what he knew.

Grey took a deep breath before asking, "what…what do you want to know?"

Feral opened his notebook to a new page and holding his pen, asked, "tell me more about these nightmares you've been having..."

Grey did the best he could, though the subject upset him a lot. His fathers went to either side of him to show support and offer comfort if he needed it.

"Alright, describe for me, the female you say was your mother..." Feral continued, writing down the information Grey gave him. "Now, I want to hear everything that happened when you were kidnaped. Leave nothing out no matter how small," he ordered.

Grey looked away not wanting to answer that question as it was still to upsetting and scary. "I don't want to talk about it."

Feral swallowed down his impatience. No matter how much he needed this information, he couldn't forget this was a kitten and he'd been traumatized by what had happened to him. Dark Kat was a frightening tom as he well knew. The fact the kid was still alive told him Dark Kat wanted something really bad from him and he had to know what that was.

Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Feral got a grip on his famous temper and said, patiently, "I know you are afraid. I've met this Kat myself and he is a scary creep."

Grey interrupted, shock and surprise in voice, "how do you know who it is? You weren't there!"

"Your description of him to your father tells me exactly who he is...you were taken by Dark Kat," Feral said, grimly.

Grey could only gape at him. 'Dark Kat? That was Dark Kat?' He was horrified that he been taken by the worst omega imaginable and was still alive...for now.

"Look, I know this is a shock but it's very important we know why Dark Kat wants you?" Feral pressed the kitten, urgently.

Grey shook his head. Now he was more scared than before and was terrified for his fathers safety if he told Feral what he knew.

Rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, Feral mentally asked for strength then remembered something that might help this situation. He looked over at the two ex-enforcers.

"You still have that letter I told you to save?" He asked.

"Yeah, I've got it...you think its time for him to read it?" Jake asked, concerned.

"Yes! He's old enough and he needs to know why we're so concerned. Go get it."

Jake nodded and left the room for upstairs.

To try and prepare the kitten, Feral said, gently, "your mother was killed protecting you from Dark Kat. She managed to escape with you but was shot. She lived long enough to hand you over to one of my patrol officers and give him a letter."

Grey's eyes filled with tears as he stared at Feral beseechingly, "why her...why me...what does he want with me..." he had always been afraid that his mother had abandoned him but this was so much worse.

"We don't know but your mother was a brave soul to do what she did to give you a chance at life. She loved you very much," Feral said, softly, offering what comfort he could.

Chance was surprised and grateful Feral was making this effort. It changed how he saw the stubborn tom.

Swallowing his tears, Grey gave Feral a grateful look as he said, shakily, "thank you!"

Feral just nodded then looked up when Jake came back into the room holding an old letter in his paw. He handed it over to Grey who took it hesitantly.

Grey stared at the paper then up at his fathers but it was Feral who spoke, "that will help you to understand a little bit about your mother and your past and to believe us when we say you are in danger and that we are here to help you."

Chance and Jake went close to their son and placed a paw on each of his shoulders. Grey had a bad feeling what he was going to read was going to upset him a lot.

Trembling a little, he opened the letter and began to read his mother's last words.  
_  
"To those who will care for my kit,_

If you're reading this then, sadly, I passed away but my kitten hopefully has survived and you are caring for him. You might wonder why this happened.

Some time ago, I was kidnapped by Dark Kat and was made a prisoner. He had one of his ninjas mate with me to produce a kitten for his master. I have no idea why. What I do know is Dark Kat wants my son.

I beg of you, please protect my son from this terrible enemy. I have named him Grey Pawson.

_Dear Grey,_

"If you are reading this then my hope that you are alive and well has been granted. Know that I love you very much and had not wished to leave you but things just didn't work out as I'd hoped. Anyway, I hope you are happy in your new home with your new parents. I wish I could be there but fate had other plans for us.

I love you. Keep well and grow strong. Goodbye. Your mother.

Grey began to sob as he heard in his mind the last word on the letter echo the one she said in his dreams. He had wanted to meet her all his life but now he knew that was never going to happen. Some part of him wished he'd died with her, but he knew he couldn't so dishonor her bravery at saving his life by thinking that way. He needed to be strong and survive as she wanted him to. But it was going to be hard after learning this. He turned toward Chance and sobbed against the broad chest of one of the only two parents he'd ever known in his life.

Jake gently hugged his son's back adding to the comfort Chance was giving.

Feral sighed and waited out the storm the letter had caused. He eyed the two toms he'd given this responsibility to and was pleased to see they had given their hearts to the young orphan and it showed by how much Grey trusted and loved them back. He no longer felt guilty about leaving the kitten with them.

It was awhile before Grey managed to stop crying and let go of his fathers, giving each a thank you kiss on the cheek for their support. Jake handed him a handkerchief so he could clean his face and clear his nose. His son gave him a watery smile.

When he could think again and his head was clear, he turned to Feral. "Okay, I'll try and give you everything I can remember," he said quietly.

Feral nodded and held his notebook ready.

"I think I was darted which explains why I wasn't aware I'd been snatched. Just before they took me I did know someone was watching me but I was out of it in the next moment. When I woke, I was in a cold, stone room somewhere, laying on a bed. Suddenly, the door opened and there he was. He ordered me to stand up and follow him. He led us to another cold, stone room and had me sit in a chair while he took another across from me. He studied me for a moment then told me I was special. I thought he meant intelligent but he said that was only part of it. He said I had special abilities and he had use of them. Then he yanked my hand across the table between us, brought out a knife and cut off my thumb. I screamed and blood covered my paw and clothes, the pain was terrible. Then, I guess I blacked out because the next moment I was being splashed with a bucket of water. The pain was gone, to my shock, and my thumb was totally intact as if it had never been injured but the blood was still there around it so I knew I hadn't been dreaming. He shouted, "it works"." Grey paused as he remembered that terrifying moment.

Feral asked, quietly, "did he say why he wanted you?"

Grey shook his head, "n-n-not really, he just said something about 'unexpected drawbacks but liking the results then told me he'd be watching me and when the time was right he'd come for me again' that's all. Then the bastard darted me and I woke up at home. The blood was cleaned from my clothes and my fur."

Feral's face was grim. He'd heard enough as he closed his notebook and put it in an inside pocket of his greatcoat. "Thank you, Grey. Now I want you to listen to me carefully. Never go anywhere alone, you're not going back to school for the time being, and I want you to keep your head alert for danger at all times until we get Dark Kat, understood?"

"Yes sir," Grey said quietly.

Satisfied, Feral turned to leave. Grey called out to him. "Hey, Commander!" Feral paused to look at him questioningly.

Grey walked up to the huge tom and gave him a hard hug much to the Commander's stunned surprise. "Thank you for saving me and giving me such wonderful and caring parents," he said sincerely.

Embarrassed, Feral hugged him back then Grey released him and stepped back. Nodding at the kitten, Feral left the garage, followed by Chance and Jake. He spoke urgently with them for a few minutes before climbing into his hummer and leaving the yard.

As he drove back to his office, he smiled to himself. It was nice to be thanked for doing something right in his life. Now he hoped he could keep that kitten alive and safe. And with Dark Kat being his enemy, that was going to be real difficult.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Hidden in a tree that overhung the salvage yard, another tom watched Grey as well. He was hardily bored from the long hours up in this tree. It didn't make him happy to see the Commander drive into the yard early this morning and hang around for more than an hour. Bur now the big tom had driven off, so now, maybe was the time for him to meet the one they told him was his little brother.

A smile crept across his face as he thought, 'so, this is Grey, huh? I certainly didn't expect to have a sibling but what the hey, I might as well go down and meet him finally."

He slowly climbed further out on the limb then jumped down on top of a heap of junk, pausing to be sure no one had heard him but the three living here had already returned inside. Perfect! He climbed down the pile and stealthily sneaked toward the entrance of the garage.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Secrets and Drake

**AN: Thank you Ulyferal**

"Hey, where are you taking me?" Grey asked both his dads.

When Feral left, Chance and Jake asked him to follow them. They didn't reply to his question as to why, just kept moving to the rear of the garage. There they stopped. Chance leaned down to remove a standard work area mat to reveal a manhole cover set in the floor. Grasping hold of a small raised piece of metal on the cover, Chance lifted it and Grey could see there was a dark hole leading down.

'Wha...? Where did this come from and why was I never told about it?' He wondered in bewilderment. Though to be truthful, he was never interested in the garage but why would his parents hide something like this...because it was obvious they were hiding it.

"Go on down, Grey. There's a ladder against this wall...it's not far but watch your step," Chance told him, grimly.

Grey stared at his father uneasily then looked down at the hole for a moment. Trusting his parents wouldn't hurt him, he shrugged his shoulders, went over and stared down at the darkness before kneeling down and feeling for the ladder. Carefully stepping down, he felt the first rung under his left foot before carefully making his way down into the darkness.

When reached the bottom, he felt a hard surface beneath his feet, so let go to stand on it then waited. Moments later, both his parents came down more swiftly then he had, proving they had been down here often. When he felt them beside him, the room suddenly burst into light.

He blinked to clear his eyes from the sudden brightness and gaped at what he saw before him. They were standing on a cement platform with steps going off it to the main floor a short distance beneath them.

The room was huge and went off into the darkness beyond but what he saw in the brightened area was what had him gaping.

There in the distance on a rotating platform, was the Turbokat. Closer to them was where two weird motorcycles sat and several other intriguing machines. Closer still a workbench with gadgets in all stages of development and blueprints pinned to the wall above sat. To the left of that was a giant computer with work station.

Shaking his head Grey, turned to look to the right and saw a door that led to what looked like a locker room where he could make out two lockers that said Razor and T-Bone in marker on them. There were other doors that seemed to lead to more rooms but his mind was already reeling at what he could see before him.

'OMG! My parents are the SWAT Kats!' His mind finally supplied the answer. This explained all those absences at strange times of the day that he didn't think were all tows. But, really... he never dreamed this was what they were actually doing. It boggled his mind as well as upset him a little...his parents were vigilantes...working outside the law.

When he'd seen his fill and partially got over his shock, he realized his parents had been silent this whole time. He turned around to stare at them questioningly. They, in turn, eyed him intently, rather pleased at how he'd reacted to the news.

"You're taking this rather well, son," Chance said quietly. Come on, let's go down, shall we?" So saying, Chance gently pushed Grey who turned and went down the stairs.

They all walked over to the work bench. Grey stared down at it.

"This is my work area where I invent all the weapons and gadgets we use in our job," Jake said, easily, reaching for a glovatrix that he was repairing.

Grey stared at it in amazement. His father invented all this? Wow! Who knew he was this skilled. Oh, he knew his father was smart but this...this was just incredible.

"Then it was you that built that..." Grey said in awe as he pointed at the Turbokat.

Jake smiled with pride as he said, "well, I designed it, yes, but Chance helped me build it."

"Yeah, and more than once," Chance chuckled, lightly then became serious again. "Grey, for your own safety, we kept this secret from you. Obviously, Feral is unaware of our dual identities and it must stay that way, understand?"

Swallowing hard, Grey nodded his head. "I'd never tell anyone about this but why?"

"Why what?" Chance asked, frowning at him.

"Why did you become the SWAT Kats? Why do you work in this salvage yard and garage?" Grey asked, walking over to look at the jet more closely, his fathers trailing after him.

"We used to be enforcers until Feral kicked us out for something we didn't do, which was damage the newly built enforcer flight line. As punishment, we were told to pay back the repair costs for the flight line and to maintain this salvage yard until we do. We opened the garage to supplement the meager salary we make running the yard," Jake said, sourly.

"As for why we became vigilantes...it was Jake that came up with the idea of staying in the game of catching the bad guys but doing it our way," Chance said, smirking. "We built this beauty and took her to the skies." He patted the jet's side.

Grey frowned. "Her?"

Jake gave Chance a playful punch as he said, "I don't think he quite understands why you call it a her, Chance..." He turned his attention to his son. "It's the same as some guys calling their car a her...just the way males are." He shrugged it off.

Grey smiled at that but it soon slipped from his face as a sad thought crossed his mind while he stared around the hangar.

"Grey, what's troubling you?" Chance asked, gently, putting an arm around his son's shoulders.

Their son chewed his bottom lip as he thought about what he wanted to ask. He didn't want to upset his parents but he felt this needed to be said. "You're criminals!" He finally blurted out.

Chance reared back and was about to get angry when Jake spoke up quickly.

"Not exactly, Grey. We haven't broken any laws...we're careful about that. Feral just calls us vigilantes...well...because we are in a way in that we capture criminals without a badge but that's the same as bounty hunters except we don't get paid for it," Jake explained carefully. "You see, the omegas are really hard to take down and, due to no fault of his own, Feral is ill equipped to do the job thanks to the Mayor always cutting his budget for troops, equipment and weapons. So since I have all this salvage to use and time to do it, I created weapons that would do the job and help save lives. It just burns Feral's butt that we can do what he can't. However, lately he's been more accepting of our help though he can't do it openly," Jake quietly confided.

Grey eyed his father for some minutes as he thought about what he had said. In his mind, it was still breaking the law just a bit and using the salvage was sort of stealing too, however, he'd known the two toms all his life and knew them to be generous, kind, thoughtful, and now he knew for certain, very brave and courageous. So he guessed he could forgive them for being a little bit on the wrong side of the law.

He smiled warmly at his parents and gave them a hug. "Okay, I can accept that."

They hugged him back, giving each other a look of relief. But then Grey became serious again which meant there was still something else that troubled him.

Jake sighed mentally. 'Hope it's something we have an answer for.'

"Okay, spill it! Obviously, there's something more and we don't want anymore secrets between us so let's hear it," Chance said, firmly.

Grey was taken aback by Chance's insistence but realized there had been too many secrets and that was what had caused some of his problems recently. Taking a deep breath, he asked, hesitantly, scared at what the answer might be, "did you adopt me only because Feral brought me to you? Was I ever a problem for you when you tried to do your two jobs?"

Both toms froze in dismay and heartache. Chance looked over at Jake, asking with his eyes if he would handle this delicate issue.

"Grey, as Feral told you, he did bring you to us and asked that we protect you. He could have taken you to Social Services but knew Dark Kat would find you there. Since he had no one or no place else that he could trust to keep you safe, he brought you to us. Being ex-enforcers, he knew we were skilled enough to keep you safe. It was Feral that demanded we adopt you to further hide your existence. Now, I'll be honest with you...we were definitely reluctant. Look at us! We were bachelors and the SWAT Kats...how could we take care of a kitten...but when we saw you in his arms we knew we couldn't turn our back on you. We took you in, adopted you, and loved you with all we had in us. It was hard, yes...but we found ways to keep you safe and happy," Jake explained. "And one more thing...we love you as if you were our own true son...never doubt that."

Grey blinked tears from his eyes. They had been forced to take him in but they had done everything to keep him safe and happy and even fell in love with him...really what more did he want from them. It was a relief to know he wasn't just a mission responsibility for them.

He gave them a watery smile and they smiled warmly back.

"So are we good now?" Chance asked, cautiously.

Grey nodded his head vigorously. "Oh yeah! Way good! I love you both so much and hey, I have the SWAT Kats as my dad's...how cool is that!"

His fathers laughed at his real enthusiasm.

Suddenly a soft chirping went off interrupting the joyful moment. His fathers went on alert immediately and looked up the ladder.

"Visitor outside!" We'd better go topside, pronto!" Jake said, heading for the ladder and going up quickly.

"Stay here, son. We'll be back," Chance told his son, then followed after Jake.

Grey nodded and stayed put, wondering who was in the garage but thinking it was more likely a customer.

Slipping silently out the hidden door, Jake went toward their waiting room to their shop while Chance hurriedly closed and covered the manhole. When Chance joined Jake, he found his partner eyeing a strange young tom standing in their waiting area.

"Can we help you?" Jake asked, politely.

The young Kat looked a little nervous as he asked, "Uhm...hello...I was looking for a job and wondered if you might be hiring."

"Sorry kid, we're not hiring and don't need more paws here. We really don't get that much work," Jake said, apologetically.

"Oh...but I really need a job. My name is Drake and I'd be willing to do anything...maybe help in the yard?" Drake insisted, not backing down.

Chance frowned at the youngster. Something about the male didn't set with him but he couldn't put a finger on why that was.

"Naw, sorry...we really don't have a need for another person around here," he said, a bit rudely.

Jake frowned at his partner in surprise but didn't contradict him.

Drake sighed and gave up. "Well, if you do find you need someone, please give me a call. I had these made up hoping I could find someone to hire me," he said lightly, handing over a small, plain business card with his name and number.

Jake nodded and took it. "I wish you good luck, kid."

"Sure, thanks," Drake said, coldly, not liking how that tabby was staring at him, then he turned and left.

"Well you sure were a bit rude. He was only looking for a job," Jake said, eyeing his partner questioningly.

"Sorry, but he just made me feel wrong. There was something just not right about him," Chance grunted.

Jake just shook his head and followed his partner back to the hangar.

**Outside the salvage yard...**

"Crap! How am I supposed to get close to Grey now? Killing them wouldn't work as that would put the enforcers and possibly the SWAT Kats on my tail. Not to mention, Dark Kat would have me for breakfast if I brought attention to myself," Drake grumbled to himself.

Kicking at rocks as he walked, his mind whirled with plans on how he would meet Grey. For now he would lay low and see if he could catch Grey alone.

That made him grin evilly. 'Those low lives are nothing but a momentary block. I'll find a way to get to Grey and if they happen to find out why I was sent here...too bad...I'll just do what I need to do and dispose of them.'


	11. Chapter 10

**NEW BORN KAT**

Chapter 10: Secret friendship

About a week after Grey learned his parents secret, he was moved to the hangar for his safety. The Mega War II base was huge but the SWAT Kats only used a small portion of it for their hangar. This meant there were plenty of rooms for Grey to chose from to set up his new pad. He picked a large space just a short hallway distance from the SWAT Kats own lair, which afforded him privacy but kept him still close enough to his parents.

He actually didn't mind living underground like this. It was actually kinda cool as he now had a huge bedroom to spread out in. Now that he wasn't in school, he had plenty of time to set up his room the way he wanted it. With his dad's help, he found enough cool things in the salvage yard to set up a desk, a portable closet for his clothes, an entertainment center (Jake had wired it up so that he could receive reception down here for his own TV), a larger bed, and covered the cement walls with cool posters and decorative blankets to give the space a more comfy feel. His dad had even put in a couple of sun lamps so he wouldn't suffer from having no window.

His dads had even splurged and got him a cool rug for the floor and less than a few feet from his room, he had his own bathroom. Jake had even found a silver disco ball to hang from his ceiling and installed an intercom so they could speak with him when they were upstairs.

Yeah, it was truly a cool pad. The only downside was not having any friends to show off and brag to about it. Shaking off that sad fact, Grey set about exploring the huge base. His dad's had already given him the grand tour of their own space but now with free time on his paws while his dad's worked, he did the rest of his exploring alone.

He had fun looking over the Turbokat, inside and out; peeking but not touching all the cool inventions Jake had made and even checked out the lower hangar where the runway for the jet lay. He managed to wheeled his parents to allow him to ride a cyclotron up and down the cavernous hallways, though Jake had to find a way to turn on lights in these areas.

But the novelty wore off and it began to pall a bit being locked up underground. Being more than a little paranoid about Dark Kat finding their son, they had forbidden Grey from going up top at all, though they did bend a little to let him out after dark with both of them nearby as guards so he could at least get some fresh air but it was less than twenty minutes at a time and felt like being in prison, so it wasn't that much fun for him at all.

His parents would bring him his meals and did spend time with him as often as the could so he wouldn't be lonely and Jake taught him what he was missing from school so he wouldn't fall behind. He would leave the teen lessons on the computer to complete as homework as well.

It had been over two weeks since this new routine in his life began and he was already hardily bored. On this evening, (he had to use a clock to know what time of day it was as he couldn't tell down here) he was getting really hungry. This happened when his fathers went out to get their dinner, but tonight they were later than usual. And, instead of one of them, both came down to see him.

"Finally! I'm starving what did you bring me?" He asked, eagerly, barely able to restrain himself.

"Sorry we were late, son. We've got your favorite...Chinese food," Chance said, taking the food to a table and serving it up.

Grey grinned with pleasure and took his portion, pleased to see his parents were joining him for dinner tonight. Jake was holding a box which he set on the table but didn't open it. Chance handed Grey a tall cup of soda and they ate with enjoyment.

When they'd finished their meal and talked about the day with their son. Jake proudly opened the box and pulled out a small but beautifully decorated cake. Grinning at the surprised look on Grey's face, Jake quickly put candles on it and lighted them.

Grey blinked in shock when both his fathers sang happy birthday to him then urged him to blow out the candles.

"Wow! I didn't know it was my birthday already. You guys are the greatest," he said as he leaned over and blew out the candles.

Then Jake was handing him something. "It isn't much, but we hope you like it," he said handing it over.

Grey blinked at what he now held in his paw. It was a handsome necklace of gold with a tiny cross hanging from it. It was beautiful.

He gave both his parents a hug. "Thank you, I like it."

"Happy Birthday, Grey," Both Chance and Jake said warmly.

The happy moment was rudely interrupted by the wailing of their special alarm. Sighing in annoyance, Chance went to take the call. He flipped off the alarm and pick up the phone.

"Yes, Ms. Briggs?"

"T-Bone…Chop Shop somehow escaped from prison, got another high tech chopper and is blowing holes in buildings as he races through downtown! Feral is trying to catch him but isn't able to keep up!" She shouted. "The creep is already in the process of strafing city hall and the Mayor is freaking out."

"We're on our way, Ms. Briggs!" Chance assured her then cut the connection. "Looks like a busy night, buddy," then turned to his son with an unhappy look, "Sorry Grey."

"It's okay I'll be fine you guys do what you have to do," Grey said reassuring his parents. He knew their job was important but he was disappointed this happened now on his birthday.

"….we'll make it up to you," Jake promised as he and Chance turned and headed for their lockers to suit up.

Moments later, they were racing for the jet. His parents gave him a parting wave as the jet descended out of sight then the canopy closed. Grey heard the distinctive whoosh sound of the jet leaving the hanger. Sighing, he finished his tasty cake then set his plate down to study his new necklace.

He noted the gold chain was actually really strong and the cross was silver. Smiling, he put it on and stared down at it, it fit him well and looked good on him. It might have been a simple gift, but he loved his fathers all the more for getting it for him.

Now that he was alone again, his smile gradually faded as he tried to think of what to do know. He really didn't like to be alone...it made him feel uncomfortable. He stared over at the ladder that led upstairs with longing. Maybe he could just go up to the apartment...

"No…nothing to do up there either..." he mused unhappily. "It's night out...and it is my birthday...perhaps I could just go out to the yard for a little bit...stay hidden in the junk but at least get some fresh air..." that idea held a lot of appeal so he went to the ladder and climbed up.

He carefully lifted the cover and peered out. All was quiet in the garage so he shoved upward and climbed out, carefully closing the lid behind him. Without turning on any lights, Grey walked slowly past a couple of rigs waiting repair and made for the office door. He stared through the blind covered window and studied the dark yard. The only lights were the sulfur type that could light up large areas and were located on each corner of the yard pointing inward. They lit up only small sections of the yard and he would have to avoid those.

Carefully disengaging the alarm, he opened the door and went out leaving the door open behind him for a quick getaway if necessary. It felt a bit weird tiptoeing around the yard but exciting as well.

'My dads would be pissed if they knew I was out here though,' he thought briefly but ignored that feeling for this wonderful moment of freedom.

He walked around in the darker sections of the yard enjoying the feel of the cool night air on his face. Looking around he decided to climb one of the high piles of junk that wasn't lit by the spotlights. Once on top he squatted down and stared around the yard.

'All's quiet here. Not even street traffic to relieve the boredom,' he sighed mentally. He was about to climb down when something about the layout of the junk at this section of the yard caught his attention. 'What the heck?'

He studied the area more closely and was pleased and amazed to see there was an obstacle course hidden in the way the junk was stacked and laid out around the yard. He grinned suddenly as he realized it was something his fathers had done to keep themselves in shape just like their danger room in the hangar.

In his mind's eye, he began to imagine his parents racing over this course competing against each other. He could plainly see the white line where they would start, a high pile of junk bridged by a long metal ladder that one had to swing from one rung to another to end at a high stand of wood, drop from that to run through a tire obstacle, climb the next pile to grab a rope and swing across a pond of water, drop to the ground, run to the next pile, grab a pole and vault over the pile then run to the finish line.

Just thinking about his parents doing this made him want to give it a try himself. 'Gee, why not...I could sure use the exercise and it would be kinda fun too.' Liking the idea too much to back away, Grey climbed back down the pile and hurried over to the starting line. He studied the layout carefully first.

A pair of eyes stared at the teen from a hidden vantage point. Drake had been watching everyday for a glimpse of Grey. Finally, his patience had paid off. His eyes glittered with intensity as he watched the teen climb down the pile of junk and head for the starting line. He had also seen the obstacle course buried in the junk yard design and wondered about it but it wasn't why he was here so he ignored it. However, maybe this was how he could get close to Grey at last.

Slipping from his hiding place, he carefully made his way into the yard by carefully disengaging the security on the gate and slipping in. He quietly ran across the yard then slowed and came up on Grey openly so as not to startle him.

Grey was so focused on what he planned to do, he never heard the footstep softly coming up behind him. He nearly jumped in his fur when the voice spoke just behind him.

"Hi, whatcha doing out here?"

His heart in his throat, Grey spun around and stared at a black furred tom nearly his own age and height, staring at him with a smile on his face.

He had been so stupid coming out here where Dark Kat's minions could spot him and not to have heard this guy sneaking into the yard then walking up to him was even worse.

"W-who are you...how did you get in here...and what you want," he demanded, trying for anger to hide his fear.

The stranger stepped back and raised his paws, a look of innocence on his face. "Whoa! Easy there guy...I'm not here to hurt you or anything. I was just passing by and saw you through the fence. Looks like someone built a kind of obstacle course. I figure it was to ease boredom working in a place like this. I was just curious and wanted to check it out."

Grey stayed tense as the strange tom explained why he was here. He seemed sincere and he hadn't offered any threat. He relaxed a little and eyed the guy more closely. 'Well, he is about my age so I doubt he's one of Dark Kats creeps. Maybe its just that simple...curiosity nothing more. Carefully, he decided to give the stranger the benefit of the doubt.

"Okay, I guess I can understand that. Sorry for being so jumpy...no many about this time of night," he said slowly. "What's you name?"

The tom smiled warmly and step forward once more. "Hey, that's okay. My name's Drake, what's yours?" He asked extending his paw for a shake.

"It's Grey," the teen said a little more easily as he shook the other's paw.

"So what were you doing and did you build this course?" Drake asked, admiring the course.

Grey quickly came up with a lie, "Uh yeah….and I was going to give it a test run right now."

The other tom grinned, asking, "can I join you?"

"Uh, well, sure why not...might make the test more interesting," Grey said slowly, scratching his head.

"Cool! This should be fun. Don't think I'll hold back from my best even though you look like a shrimp with no muscle," Drake teased lightly as he moved to stand at the starting line.

Grey blushed at the teasing, feeling warm to have someone to joke around with. "Hey, I'm no shrimp. Just wait until I leave you behind in the dirt."

Drake just laughed. "we'll just see about that. You give the start signal!" He said, hunching his body to ready himself to run.

Grey grinned and nodded, getting into a ready position himself then called out, "on three... 1...2...3."

Grey managed to take the lead and was the first to climb up the mountain of junk to the ladder crossing, Drake hot on his tail. When they were halfway up, Drake managed to pass Grey and was the first swinging from rung to rung along the ladder. Grey found it a bit harder for himself to swing across the rungs which proved he hadn't really done much at building his chest and arm muscles.

Being in the lead, Drake was the first to leave the ladder and drop to the ground, running for the next obstacle. Grey wasn't too far behind as they ran through the tire obstacle, Drake keeping the lead.

"Come on kid, you can do better than that," Drake mocked, as he jumped swiftly through the tires.

"I'm not done yet," Grey panted, closing in on Drake then leaping over the other tom by using his shoulders as a fulcrum to leap further ahead.

Grey pushing off of his back made Drake lose his footing and land on his face but he recovered quickly and raced after Grey. The teen was already climbing the next pile. Drake was nearly up to the top when Grey grabbed a rope and swung over the pond. Drake was right behind and landed on the ground across from the water nearly on Grey's heels.

The teen glanced over his shoulder and was dismayed at how close Drake was. He turned his head back to the front and ran even harder for the last mountain of junk. Grabbing a pole he jabbed it into the ground and swung forward and just managed to let go in time to land just shy of the top. He hit the junk wall with a woof of air.

Shaking himself, he moved to climb over the top and felt Drake slam the wall to one side of him having vaulted with more skill. Since they didn't land on the opposite side like they were supposed to, they both had to climb down the junk which was tricky.

Grey was near the end of his strength and felt like quitting but something in him wouldn't allow such an easy out. Pouring on a last burst of energy and a strong desire to win, he managed to cross the finish line at the same time as Drake.

Instead of being exhausted, Grey was surprised to feel stronger, his vision sharper, his body energized. Still, he walked around to cool down, watching out of the corner of his eye, the other tom doing the same.

They were silent for a little as they caught their breath.

"Tired?" Drake asked, breaking the silence finally.

Grey gave the tom a snort as he began to pace and bounce on his feet from a surfeit of energy his body was pouring into his limbs. "Are you kidding? That was a blast and I'm ready to do it again...you?"

Drake smirked but shook his head. "Naw, not tonight. You do look like you had a great time and we should do this again," he said warmly, placing a paw on Grey's shoulder to calm him down.

"Yeah, definitely," Grey said, grinning eagerly.

"Cool. I'll stop by again but its really time I left now, its getting late," Drake said, easily. "Oh and by the way, those are some cool red eyes you've got there. Good night!" He blithely waved and walked to the gate and slipped through, carefully closing, locking, and re-engaging the security system without Grey seeing him.

Grey didn't notice because he was still too stunned by what Drake had said in parting. 'I have red eyes?' He hurried back to the garage and slipped inside, re-engaged the security system then walked quickly to the hatch to climb down. No way did he want them to find him outside and he didn't plan on telling them about Drake either.

He was relieved to find the hangar as he'd left it...quiet and empty, his parents hadn't returned yet. Sighing, he went to his bathroom and stared in the mirror. His eyes were normal. 'What the heck? Why did Drake say they were red?' Shaking his head, he shoved the odd statement away and went to prepare for bed. He had been energized moments ago but was now burning out and felt tired.

Not long after, the Turbokat reappeared in the hangar. Razor and T-Bone were talking about the mission as they leaped from the cockpit and went to get changed.

"Chop Shop's laughter really creeps me out. What a weird kat and too good a pilot to be running around causing trouble. What a waste of talent!" T-Bone grunted in disgust.

"Yeah, I agree but it was his choice and it landed him back in jail again. I'm enjoying the fact, Feral no longer rants and raves at us anymore...makes the job far more enjoyable," Razor said, in a good mood.

"That is so true," Chance said as he pulled on his coveralls.

"Hey, wonder where Grey is? He usually waits for us so he can hear what went on?" Jake asked.

"Ahhh, you worry too much, buddy. He could be in his room listening to tunes and he get himself some cake and I'd like some too now," Chance said, reaching for the cake.

"Well, I want to check on him first," Jake said, walking toward the hall that led to their son's bedroom.

Sighing, Chance left the cake alone and went after his partner. Opening Grey's door a crack, the nightlight showed the pair their son laying curled up under his blankets, fast asleep.

"Aww, look at that, poor guy is tuckered out," Chance murmured softly.

The two went into the room and leaned down to give their son a kiss then left him sleeping peacefully.

"Wonder what he did to get so tired?" Jake asked as they returned to the main hangar.

Chance shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he decided to work out for a bit. He does need to build up his muscles."

Jake rolled his eyes but let the subject go. "Wish we could have spent his birthday with him though," he said getting a slice of cake himself.

"Yeah, well we at least got him a gift, his favorite meal, and some cake what more is there?" Chance asked, taking a huge bite of his cake.

"Being with us?" Jake said, sadly, only nibbling his cake.

Chance halted eating to eye him seriously. "Yeah, okay...I know we don't spend that much time with him. But that's the way its always been."

"Yeah, but he's growing fast and will be on his own soon. We need to make more time for him especially since he's shut up in the hangar so much and can't be with others. That's lonely, Chance," Jake said, concerned.

"Crud, you're right. I know I wouldn't have liked being alone so much either, but what can we do?"

"I don't know but we definitely need to do something...perhaps putting him through our training program..." Jake said, thoughtfully.

"Hey, that's a great idea...you're already taking care of his education but he's not getting gym time and for his protection he should know how to defend himself," Chance jumped in excitedly.

"Okay, then I'll design a work out program for him and get him started soon," Jake said, pleased with their decision.

Chance grinned and finished his cake.

_**A/N: Grey's fathers are right to be concerned. This secret friendship could lead to serious trouble! Will Chance and Jake find out about it in time to protect him? Please Review!  
**_


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Other Side of the Coin

AN: Thank you Ulyferal

Holding to their agreement, his nights were fun but hard, as Drake pushed him to his limits during their sessions. He was no longer bored and enjoyed having someone to talk to besides his parents. So by day, he had his homework to do and workouts with Chance and by night the obstacle course with Drake, though it wasn't every night as Drake apparently had other things he was doing. He never told Grey what those things were and he never asked.

As he said he would do, Grey kept Drake a secret from his parents knowing full well they would forbid it. Things were going along well over the past couple of weeks. This evening, his parents planned to go out on patrol so while he waited for them to leave, his mind was on the plans he had with Drake. He lay on his back on the wing of the jet staring up at the ceiling while Jake was checking the glovetrixes and Chance was loading up more missiles.

He didn't realize they were finished until Chance yelled at him, interrupting his train of thought.

"Hey Grey! We're going to order dinner, what would you like?"

Frowning, Grey kept his eyes upward and called back, "whatever you guys get is fine with me."

"Okay, Chinese it is," Chance smirked then he and Jake went upstairs.

Grey sighed and continued to make plans. About thirty minutes later, his dads returned. He jumped down from the wing and joined them near the computer console. Since they shared meals down here with him now, his dads had gotten a second kitchen table and chairs and had set it up in a corner. They talked about his lessons, what he saw on TV, and other subjects. When dinner was through, Grey helped clean up then watched TV with them for a couple of hours. When it was full dark and past the normal work day for most of the city, his parents suited up to leave on patrol.

"Remember son, stay inside," T-Bone reminded him. Grey dutifully nodded, waving good bye as his parents boarded the jet and it vanished from view.

Grey counted out, "1….2…3….4…5…6..." then heard the jet roar into the sky. Smiling with excitement, he hurried to the stairs leading up.

Climbing out into the quiet and dark garage, he made his way to the waiting room door, disengaged the security lock and opened the door. Leaving it open behind him, he went to the gate, flicked the light outside three times then waited.

To protect his parents identity, Grey had devised a plan to let Drake know it was safe to come by. He didn't want the tom to hang about and catch sight of the jet. Though the runway lead quite a distance from the yard, the fact it left this area might raise some suspicions in someone who was waiting nearby all the time.

So he'd told Drake not to come near the yard until after eight pm then he would flick the gate light three times to tell the tom if it was safe to come in. Drake didn't question the need, simply did as asked. He hadn't wanted to screw up this arrangement in any way.

Disarming the gate, he waited patiently. Some fifteen minutes later, Drake came walking out of the dark and slipped through the gate which Drake relocked and set the alarm again. They didn't speak until they reached the obstacle course.

"How ya doing?" Grey asked politely.

"Hi, Kit….doing good," Drake drawled casually.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?"

"Actually, there's something I need to talk to you about...follow me..." Drake instructed, leading Grey to another part of the yard.

They had walked along in silence for a bit when Drake finally spoke but what he said disturbed Grey a lot.

"I gotta ask you, with all the omegas out there, what do you think of that guy, Dark Kat?" Drake asked, stopping to face Grey but continuing to be relaxed and easy as if it was just a simple question.

Shivering inside, Grey looked away from Drake's keen gaze. He had to work hard not to bolt at just the mention of that name.

Pretending a nonchalance he didn't feel, he muttered uncomfortably, "I'd just assume not talk about those guys at all, if you don't' mind."

"Aw come on, Grey...I just wanted to get you opinion on them is all...what do you think?" Drake persisted.

"Well, obviously, I've never met him so I only know as much as every other person knows from what's on TV...he's just a bad dude bent on making us all slaves," Grey said, tightly, lying about never having met the evil Kat before.

"Gee, you don't have to get so defensive...it was only a question," Drake said, snorting.

"I don't know why you persisting in this...I'd rather do something else than talk about bad Kats," Grey said, shivering with foreboding. This conversation was making him way too nervous.

"Aw don't take it like that, kit...I just wanted to know what you felt about him..." Drake said, feigning hurt feelings.

Feeling bad that he was acting so standoffish, Grey sighed, "I just don't like thinking about those evil beings is all. So I really don't have an opinion except for not wanting to run into them...okay?"

"Okay, you don't have to get so upset about it. Sorry, we're still friends, right," Drake asked, lowering his ears and pretending contrition.

"Yeah, sure...look...maybe we should just not do this tonight, okay..." Grey suggested, hesitantly. The subject of Dark Kat had upset him too much to enjoy his friend's company now.

"Aw...sorry kit...I didn't mean to spoil the evening," Drake muttered.

"Yeah...well you did kinda...so..." Grey turned away and walked back to the front gate.

As they reached the gate and Drake waited for Grey to open it before he made another try. "Hey, well, I am sorry to upset you but I really need you to answer my question. It is kinda important to me."

Frowning, Grey looked at the black tom and sighed mentally. 'Don't know why its such a big deal but he'd obviously not going to drop it either,' he thought. Chewing on his lip, he said slowly, "I think he's an insane Kat...one of the worst ones out there. What about you?"

Drake didn't answer for a moment, eyeing Grey speculatively. "I think he's the greatest Kat that ever lived... and who created me," he hissed, eyes glittering evilly, sending terror up Grey's spine.

Everything in him screamed, 'run', but before he could, Drake snatched him by the waist and held him tight. Hissing coldly in Grey's ear, he growled, "you've become weak and kind, brother! That's unacceptable to Dark Kat so I'll just have to help you change."

Grey struggled violently at those stunning words, his mind shocked at the realization that Dark Kat had managed to reach out to him after all and with someone he'd learned to trust.

"Brother...how can you be..." his anguished words were cut off by the feel of a needle in his neck. Only seconds later, his limbs went limp and darkness stole away the world.

"Nighty- night, brother," Drake growled, lifting the now dead weight in his arms and slipping through the gate, carrying his burden off into the shadows..

T-Bone and Razor were passing over the bay when a strong, uneasy feeling passed over them. It made both their pulses race, stomachs clench, and bodies go cold before quickly fading away.

"T-Bone! Did you..." Razor blurted, tensely.

"Felt that cold sensation...yeah I did," his partner said, grimly as he turned the jet and raced for home. "Something's wrong and I want to check on Grey to make sure it wasn't coming from home."

Razor silently agreed. He prayed nothing had happened to their son.

AN: Please Review


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Help

T-Bone flew the jet down its runway nearly way too fast but managed to keep it steady until it reached the turntable and he slammed the brakes on. He quickly shut down the engines and the two of them waited impatiently for the platform to rise to the main floor. The jet had barely cleared the tunnel when T-Bone shot the canopy back hard and the pair leaped down to run into the main hangar.

Looking around quickly, they saw no sign of Grey. Next stop was their son's room.

T-Bone shouted his son's name as they hurried down the corridor, "Grey! Where are you?"

Reaching Grey's quarters, they found his door open and the room empty. Since their son hadn't answered T-Bone's call, they spread out and searched their hangar more closely. It was Razor who made a chilling discovery.

"T-Bone...come here!"

His partner came running and looked up where his friend was pointing. The hatch leading up to the garage was open. Giving each other grim looks, the two climbed upstairs quickly.

The garage was dark and silent, nothing seemed out of place as they walked toward the waiting area. Here they found the alarm deactivated and the door unlocked.

"Just like a teen...he went outside against our express orders," T-Bone growled, angrily, stepping through the door to go look around the yard.

Razor sighed and followed. "Hey, its hard to stay cooped up underground, buddy. In the dark with no one around and the gate closed and secured, he had no reason to think he was in any danger."

T-Bone just grunted, too upset to agree or disagree with his partner. They spread out and searched using their helmet lights. T-Bone called out from near the gate just a few minutes later, sending Razor running back to him from further out in the yard.

"The gate's security has been disengaged and the lock's open. Someone else was here since I'm certain Grey wouldn't have opened it to let anyone in."

Razor didn't respond to that but said instead, "let's go in and check my surveillance cameras." He turned and headed back to the garage with T-Bone on his heels.

Back in the hangar, Razor called up his security system. After many long minutes, he grunted unhappily.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone disabled the main cameras but didn't find my secondary's. Let's see who else might have been here."

For the next twenty minutes they viewed boring footage then suddenly they caught something. Razor halted the scene and they both cursed angrily.

"Who the hell is that and why did Grey let him in?" T-Bone was furious.

"Wait! Isn't that the tom that tried to get a job here sometime back?"

"Crud! It is. But how did he get Grey to let him in?"

"Maybe this isn't the first time..." Razor muttered as he went back a ways further. "Damn, I was right, Grey's been letting him in and they've been hanging out and using our obstacle course. He was lonely and that's how this guy got himself in by pretending to be his friend." Razor was angry but sad at the same time. No matter how much Grey loved them, it didn't replace the need for friends his own age.

Sighing, he ran the images forward again until the very last sequence of events played. They watched Grey and the stranger walk the yard, go out to the obstacle course, talk then Grey seemed to get upset by something and the two walked back to the gate, the stranger struck using a needle to subdue Grey then carried the limp body out the gate.

Razor saw red! And his partner was no better as he slammed a fist into the nearby wall. "That bastard took him!"

"Yeah, and now we're going to find them. It's obvious Dark Kat is involved...I'm certain of it," Razor growled. "I'm glad we gave him that special necklace with the tracking chip in it. I noticed he always wears it and that's what is going to find him for us."

"Good! When we find that bastard and Dark Kat, I'm going to make paste of them both."

"Take it easy, partner. We can't go off without some kind of plan..."

"Of course we can, that's what we've always done! Now let's get going."

Razor stopped his partner from storming off by yanking on his flight suit. T-Bone turned and nearly plowed a fist in his partner's face. "What are you doing? We've got to get going or Dark Kat will harm Grey!"

"And if we do that, Dark Kat will either hide Grey, have him carried off by his creeplings or kill him...take your pick. And if we did, by some miracle save Grey and Dark Kat manages to get away, Grey's life will still be in danger, " Razor shouted to make T-Bone listen to him.

"No! We have to play this right. Plan for every contingency and get help to make sure Dark Kat is put behind bars and whatever plan he's hatched is stopped completely."

T-Bone's ears drooped in anguish. His partner was right. They had to handle this very carefully if they were to succeed in rescuing their son intact.

"Okay, I'm with you. So what do you suggest we do?"

"Go see Feral."

His partner's eyes widened and he nearly shouted a denial but clamped his mouth shut and thought about it. He realized there was no way the two of them could take on Dark Kat and save their son without help and the only help they could get was the enforcers. But he didn't like it.

Feral was working late. Only his desk lamp cast any light in his darkened office. Which wasn't that unusual but this time it wasn't because of an omega that had attacked. No, he was trying to track the most elusive omega they had...Dark Kat. His desk was littered with reports that he was pouring from his operatives that he had combing the city for Dark Kat. He was tired of always being one step behind the megalomania and was determined to catch him before the omega could put any grand scheme he had planned into operation.

However, despite his enforcers searching all the abandoned warehouses in the city, the closest mountain caverns and even extinct volcanoes, they had found no sign of the omega.

"Where is that psycho?" He grumbled irritably to himself, tossing another fruitless report to his desk top. It was getting frustrating that they couldn't find Dark Kat anywhere. But he had no intention of giving up. They would search until they found him or he found them.

Sighing mentally, he reached for his newly filled cup of coffee and raised it toward his mouth when a voice barked... "Feral!"...close to his ear from the shadows making him jerk reflexively, spilling some of his hot drink on his chest.

He hissed angrily and in pain as he slammed his cup down and grabbed some tissue to wipe his shirt off with, turning his head to glare at the culprit.

"I hate it when you sneak in here like that!"

T-Bone didn't apologize, his face grim and body tense with anger, Feral didn't fail to notice it and that the smaller SWAT Kat was equally upset.

"What's wrong? Something happen?"

"We need your help," Razor said, tightly.

Feral blinked at him in sarcastic amazement. "Kat's alive! I never thought I'd hear either of you ask for that. What's going on that's bad enough for you to swallow that arrogant pride of yours to come to me about?"

"Grey's been kidnapped by Dark Kat."

The dark tom froze and stared at the grim pair as if seeing them for the first time. There was no way these two would know about Grey unless...shock raced up his spine.

"Crud! No way! I should have realized ...I could just kick myself for failing to guess that it was you two that would come and tweak my tail every time for being booted out. You're both skilled enough to do what you did and then there's putting you in a salvage yard with all that lovely equipment to use to build your toys...what an idiot I've been," he berated them and himself, totally blown away and angry for not guessing.

"Never mind that. Did you hear me? Grey has been taken!" Razor hissed.

Shaking himself, Feral shelved this new revelation to focus on the problem that had brought them here and forced them to reveal themselves to him.

"You're certain it was Dark Kat ?"

"Who else could it be. I have footage on my security disk of a young tom only a little older than Grey, drugging him, then carrying him away."

"What tom? How the heck did he manage to get by your sophisticated security system? I know you have one since that's what you're good at."

"Unfortunately, it appears Grey had formed some kind of friendship with this tom who had tried to get a job with us a few months ago. He befriended Grey then turned on him and that's why I suspect Dark Kat had a paw in it," Razor spit out bitterly.

Feral's shoulders slumped in anguished dismay. After all he'd done to try and protect the orphaned kitten, Grey still had been taken. He felt truly bitter about it but shoved it aside and stood up and left his desk to face the two.

"Now I know why you need my help but I've been trying to find that bastard for months. I've had my enforcers comb this whole damn city and the mountains for him. These..." he gestured to his desk full of reports, "...are negative reports. No trace has been found of him."

"That's okay. I've got a tracer on Grey. All we need is backup and a plan that will get our son back safe and sound and capture Dark Kat so he can't threaten him again." Razor growled, a cold expression on his face.

"That's good news. Then I'll gather up the troops and we'll go," Feral said briskly then paused to stare at the two. "After this is over, we'll have to talk about my knowing who you are and what I should do about it."

Both toms simply nodded their heads gravely in understanding. Their secret identities meant nothing right now to them...only getting Grey back before Dark Kat could harm him was all they cared about.

_**AN: Yes just 4 more chapters to go before I'm done with this story. ^_^ Please review.**_


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Knowing

"Uhhh…where am I?" Grey moaned, opening his eyes slowly. He was in the room where he'd been held captive. He whimpered in fear, wondering if he would be tortured again. He licked his lips and shivered at that memory.

Suddenly out of the dimness a voice spoke quietly to him. "Easy kitten, the needle's affects haven't worn off completely yet. Just lay there and relax a bit longer.

Grey realized the voice was much nearer than he'd thought. A soft light was turned on and he swallowed in terror as he saw the Kat that had been with Dark Kat the last time he was here. The ninja just stared at him quietly making no hostile moves.

Still, Grey wanted nothing to do with him so quickly rolled away and huddled in the farthest corner of the bed against the wall. He watched the ninja warily.

"D-d-don't hurt me! Stay away!"

The Kat shook his head and walked to the bed. Sitting on the end away from Grey, he simply signaled the kitten to come sit by him.

Grey eyed him nervously. If he didn't obey, he could get worse done to him than just getting his thumb cut off so reluctantly, he moved to sit an arms length from the tom.

The ninja eyed him quietly through weird looking glass eyes. He didn't speak for some minutes then he reached out with a paw but Grey ducked away.

"It's alright kitten, I'm not going to hurt you."

Grey stared at him in angry disbelief. "Who are you kidding? You did nothing the last time I was here so why should I trust you? I've already been betrayed by someone I thought was my friend so pardon me if I don't believe anything anyone here says to me." It hurt remembering how Drake had betrayed him and brought him here again.

The ninja sighed, reaching up, he pulled back his hood then removed the mask that hid his features. He had a red furred face with only one blood red eye. There were scars on his face and one that scored across his now useless left eye. He stared at Grey with an expression of pity.

"You remind me so much of your mother...same eyes, fur coloring...nothing like me despite our shared genes. However, if Drake is correct, your eyes changed to my red, then you're making the transition to being a weapon in Dark Kat's army he's breeding."

Grey blinked at the tom in shock. The tom's words stabbed him like a knife. This was his real father. He didn't know whether to cheer or to punch him in the face. This was all too much to take in. But there was one question that burned in him, did this tom rape his mother?

As if he could read his mind, the tom said flatly, "I didn't force your mother to have you. She made the choice to breed and actually treated me well. She opened her heart and took me in, something I'd never experienced before in my life. I found I wanted to protect her...love her as much as she loved me. But we had to hide that because of being closely watched by Dark Kat at all times." A sad look crossed his face.

Though uncertain he could believe this tom, Grey couldn't restrain his burning curiosity about the mother he'd never met. "What was she like?"

The tom sighed and looked away a moment then turned his gaze back on Grey. "She was like ... how do I describe her...she was like an angel. She understood people ... could see into their hearts. She helped the weak and needy... was oh so kind but dangerous when she was mad." That last made him chuckle a bit at the memory.

Grey couldn't help but smile at his description of his mother. Wistfully, he asked, "why did she name me Grey?"

He chuckled softly, "that was me, actually. I told her my nickname and she thought that was perfect for you. It felt wonderful to be able to name you." He blushed a bit, rubbing his neck with his paw. "When you were born...I was happier than I could remember being in my whole life but I had to hide my emotions so Dark Kat wouldn't see how attached I was to the both of you. He wouldn't have hesitated to kill me for it."

Grey shivered and lowered his ears. He stayed silent for a moment as he thought of all the things he wanted to ask but this wasn't really the place. But one he did need to know, "why didn't you help her escape or found me?"

A grim look settled on the tom's face. "She never told me she planned to escape and take you with her. I'm guessing she didn't want me to be killed. Anyway, it wasn't until it was too late that I learned he'd had her killed and you were lost. No one seemed to know where or if you were alive even. After that, I sort of lost myself...my life was over as far as I was concerned." A small tear fell down his face unheeded.

Grey felt pain and sorrow. He moved to hugged the tom, he was now certain was his father. They shared a moment of grief and loss as they held onto each other for a long time. Finally, he pulled away, his gaze flicking nervously toward the door.

Staring into his son's eyes, he said, "you can't know how much you being alive means to me, Grey. But listen, we've got to get you out of here quickly. Dark Kat has plans for you."

"What kind of plans?" Grey asked worriedly.

"He's going to wipe your memories completely and fill them with what he wants you to know to obey him completely. You are to be one of his specially bred soldiers with powers that will make you a force to be reckoned with. The enforcers won't be able to stop you or the others he's going to breed from your genes to complete the army he'll use to take over Megakat City." His father told him grimly.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing special about me?" Grey denied.

His father gave him a sad look. "I'm sorry son but you're not. While your mother was carrying you, Dark Kat had his scientists inject her womb with special genes he'd had them develop to create his super soldiers. The result was a kitten that possessed new abilities. You can heal nearly instantaneously, resist illnesses, have greater stamina than a normal Kat, faster reflexes, speed, hearing, etc."

Grey could only shake his head. Except for the healing, he didn't observe any of those other things in him but according to his father they were there. "Okay, say that's true. How can I alone make him this army he needs? Or is he breeding others like me?"

"Your blood is the key! You were the end result of many failed attempts. Now that you are a success, all he has to do is use your blood to create more kittens with your abilities."

"What about Drake? Is he my brother?"

"Yes but he was one of the failures. He has only a few of your abilities but not all."

Something bothered Grey about all this. "He had me before in his clutches. Why didn't he drain me then?"

"It turned out, the various abilities had to take time to grow within you. All the chemicals he'd pumped into your body in utero had to slowly alter your DNA. He stole you the first time to check the progress of the experiment and found you to be nearly ready but not quite so decided to leave you where you were for a bit longer. Your times up now."

Grey felt sick. To realize he was part of some dark plan of Dark Kat's to take over the city just made him angry and scared. His father was right! He had to get out of here now!

His father seemed to sense his decision as he rose from the bed and made for the door. "Come on...let's get the hell out of here."

Scrambling from the bed, Grey went to stand behind his father. "Hey, um...father?"

Pleased and surprised Grey was willing to call him that, his father turned his head and asked, "yeah?"

"What's your name?"

He gave Grey a sad smile, "Just call me Ghost"


	15. Chapter 14

New Born Kat

Chapter 14: Failed escape

AN: Thank you Ulyferal for been my beta.

Grey and his, recently reunited, father, slipped from the cell he'd been kept in. For the next fifteen minutes, the two of them wound their way through many tunnels, avoiding creeplings and ninjas trying to escape. They hadn't been caught so far but they weren't out of wherever here was yet.

Staying close to his silent and fast moving father, Grey dared to asked, softly, "where are we, dad?" They ducked behind some huge barrels a moment so his father could do a recon of the area first.

He muttered softly, "were in the mountains north of the city, he found a huge cave with many chambers for his hideout...come on, its clear..." he stood up and hurried down the rough carved corridor.

Keeping close, Grey couldn't see where they might be going. The place was huge and Dark Kat had obviously made a huge warren out of it. One could get lost easily here.

"Are we close to getting out of here, yet?"

Ghost's mask hid a tiny smile of amusement...Grey sounded just like a small kitten demanding, 'are we there yet?' but the moment of humor passed as he concentrated on getting them to the exit.

"Shhh...there's a door coming up...it leads to a motor pool where Dark Kat keeps a fleet of vehicles. We're going to steal one."

Grey was relieved to know they were almost out of here but a new thought hit him and he nearly stopped in his tracks but collected himself and kept going.

"Once we're out of here, then what?"

His father's answer was slow in coming. They were forced to hide in a small slit in the rock wall for some minutes as some ninjas passed by ahead. When they were gone, Ghost answered, "I don't really know. Getting out is all that's on my mind at the moment, son. But I do know, I can't be caught with you or I'll be arrested by the enforcers."

"You can stay hidden with me and my adoptive parents. They'll hide you and protect you..." Grey was desperate not to lose the only parent he had left now that he had found him.

Ghost sighed, "True…I do want to meet them but…I'll just be a serious difficulty for them and if they get caught harboring me and Feral finds out, he would arrest them...you don't want that happening do you?"

"But….." Grey began to object but at a grim look on his father's face he stopped trying. Ghost was right, it really couldn't work, no matter how badly he wanted it too.

Ghost smiled a little, "I'll visit you kit, don't worry" he reassured his son, "but right now, its more important we get out of here before we talk about the future, okay?"

"…..okay," Grey murmured reluctantly.

Checking one last time that the coast was clear, Ghost hurried to the door ahead and flung it open only to freeze at the sight before him. Grey stared over his father's shoulder...his heart sinking.

There with his henchment pointing guns at the door, was Dark Kat. Ghost cursed. He thought he'd managed to get clear of the cameras but obviously he hadn't which was how his former boss knew what he was attempting to do and most likely had been watching him the whole time. He should have guessed why it had seemed to easy to get from the cells to the motor pool. He felt like a fool but more than that, he was terrified for his son.

Dark Kat gave an evil chuckle. "Did you really think it would be that easy to escape?" He asked mockingly, not really expecting an answer. "Take them!" The pair were quickly surrounded.

His fellow ninjas handled him none too gently as they marched Ghost up to his boss. Dark Kat eyed the tom coldly then punched the red tom in the stomach without warning.

"I should have known you would betray me." The omega gave the tom another hard punch to the gut. The tom curled up and collapsed to the ground, groaning.

Grey had made an abortive lunge toward his father only to be jerked back by his arms, tightly by other ninjas. All he could do was watch, helplessly as Dark Kat methodically beat the tom.

When he felt he'd done as much harm to his ex-minion as he could, Dark Kat pulled out a laser and prepared to fire at Ghost.

"Noooo..." Grey wailed, distraught. "Please don't kill him!" He begged, tears beginning to fall down his cheek.

Dark Kat gave him a cold look then fired his laser point blank into Ghost's chest. Everything seemed to slow in his eyes as he watched his father's eyes widen then the blast hit him in the chest, pain flashed on the tom's face before it went still and motionless.

The ones holding Grey finally released him. The kitten could only drop to his knees and sob over his father's body. He'd lost his mom when he was just a tiny kitten and now his real father before he even got to know him at all. It was too much to bear.

Dark Kat came to stand over him but he never noticed. The omega sneered in disgust then said in icy tones, "stop your sneeveling and get up...its time to wipe your memory." He reached down and jerked the kitten to his feet and was about to drag him away when a loud boom was heard the ground beneath their feet shook. Debris fell from the ceiling as well, dusting them with small stones and dirt.

Speakers set in the wall began screaming a warning over and over again, "Intruder alert...intruder alert!"

Dark Kat growled and dragged the kitten across the motor pool area toward a flying ship parked some distance away. "Take care of whoever it is...now!" He ordered his minions as he made to escape his hideout.

As the ninjas ran to do his bidding, they could still hear the kitten sobbing as they vanished from view.

Grey struggled and cried, dragging his feet to try and stop Dark Kat from hauling him away. He desperately wanted to remain by his father's side but Dark Kat was far too strong and kept pulling him further and further away from the lone body laying on the cold, stone floor.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Following the tracking device they'd placed on their son, the SWAT Kats with Feral and his enforcers, found Dark Kat's hideaway quickly. They immediately engaged Dark Kat's forces as they tried to storm the mountain in search of Grey. The enforcers were making significant headway after the SWAT Kats had destroyed all of Dark Kat's outer defenses.

Feral charged into the huge cave opening with a troop of enforcers at his back. "I want this place searched from top to bottom. You all know who we're looking for so head out."

His troops broke up into smaller units and spread out. Feral stayed with the SWAT Kats who had landed their jet and were with the enforcers when they entered the fortress.

Using his portable tracking device in his glovatrix, Razor led the way to where Grey was. "The signal is coming from that way."

T-Bone charged ahead, firing his glovatrix whenever he encountered a ninja or creepling. "Then get your butt in gear so we can catch them before Dark Kat gets away." He shouted.

Razor ran at his friend's heels with Feral guarding their backs. "Don't worry, buddy. We'll give Dark Kat something to remember," he growled, wanting to rip the omega to shreds with just his claws.

They raced through a door at the end of a long corridor, slammed the door open and raced across the huge cavern toward a flying ship on the far side. As they got close, they saw Dark Kat holding Grey by his arm and dragging the kitten toward the ship.

Neither Dark Kat nor Grey had seen the SWAT Kats and Feral yet.

The kitten continued to struggle and made it as difficult as he could for Dark Kat. "Let me go!" He yowled angrily.

Dark Kat hissed in anger at how much trouble the kitten was. Getting disgusted and annoyed, he slammed a fist into the kittens stomach sending the kitten to his knees. "Silence! Or I will kill you like I did your father."

Holding his stomach, his arm still in the arm held by Dark Kat, Grey still had enough fury in him to choke out, "I'm going to kill you for what you did!"

Dark Kat snarled and was about to punch the kitten in the face this time when an octopus missile captured his arm and sent him hurtling backward to a nearby wall. Grunting, he jerked the missile off him and tossed it away then stared in fury at the one who shot it.

Grey had nearly been dragged with Dark Kat but the omega had released him part way leaving him laying on the ground and staring back at the surprising sight. "Da... uh SWAT Kats?"

"So you found me at last, eh Commander and you brought the SWAT Kats with you," Dark Kat jeered at Feral.

Still some distance away, T-Bone yelled, "Games over, Dark Kat!" He fired a tarpedo but Dark Kat easily ducked it and moved swiftly to stand over Grey, pulling his laser out and pointing it down at the kitten.

The SWAT Kats and Feral raced up but froze a short distance away, unwilling to force Dark Kat's paw and harm their son.

Dark Kat smiled evilly, "on the contrary the game is still going...do anything stupid and the kitten dies...now drop your weapons!"

Giving each other an angry, unhappy look, T-Bone and Razor pulled their glovatrixes off and dropped them at their feet, Feral dropped his laser down as well. All three eyed the omega tensely, waiting to see what he would do next.

With his eyes on his enemies, Dark Kat reached his free paw down and yanked Grey to his feet. Holding his laser to the kitten's head, he said flatly, "if I see your jet following me, I won't hesitate to kill him." Walking backward, he dragged Grey toward his jet.

Grey stared at his fathers in dismay. He could see the fear on their faces and the anger that they were too late.

He had to do something or it would be too late. 'Come on, Grey...think...if you don't do something them he's won and you'll be an enemy to them all.' His mind frantically searched for a solution then finally something clicked. The idea was crazy but it just might work.

He concentrated his attention on Dark Kat's gun and waited his opportunity. It was a dangerous gamble but it was the only one he had. As he hoped, one of his father's had made some kind of move and Dark Kat reacted to it.

"Ah..ah..ahhh...don't even thing about it," the omega growled at T-Bone, the tom having made an abortive move toward them.

'Yes!' Grey quickly grabbed the laser and pressed the release to allow the charging unit to fall out and hit the ground then dropped the laser while he sent an elbow to Dark Kat's solar plexus making the tom release his arm. Grey dropped to the floor and rolled madly out of the way as his parents swiftly swept up their glovatixes and began firing at Dark Kat.

An octopus missile and net missile took the omega out finally, pinning him effectively to the rough stone floor.

With the omega taken out, finally, the three defenders raced to the kittens side. Razor was the first to get there and ask, "Grey! Are you alright?"

Grey seemed dazed and unresponsive though he didn't seem to have any injures, Razor could find besides bruises.

"Grey?" T-Bone's voice was concerned but his attention was pulled by a ground from behind him. He turned his head and gave Dark Kat a cold look.

Dark Kat was struggling against the net that held him trapped. He hissed at them, "curse you SWAT Kats."

"Don't bother trying to escape, Dark Kat. That rope is steel laced with agracite...you'll get free of it," T-Bone growled, pointing his glovatrix on the omega just in case.

Dark Kat snarled at them. His plans had been well thought out and should have succeeded. How had they found them? He didn't think the traitor had done it since he'd kept the minion close to base, not letting him out of his sight. It didn't matter now, he was caught and his plans were in ruins.

Suddenly something caught his eye. 'Hmm, perhaps not all is lost,' he thought beginning to grin widely at his captors.

Eyeing the omega uneasily, Feral demanded, "what's so funny, Dark Kat?" His own laser was held on the tom unwaveringly.

Concerned, both T-Bone and Razor left their son to recover behind them and moved to stand between their son and the omega forming a protective wall. But Dark Kat didn't seem to be bothered by their weapons nor their threat and that made them worried. What did he have up his sleeve. It was Razor who realized Dark Kat wasn't looking at them but behind them.

He whirled around and stared. Grey had gotten shakily to his feet and had picked up the forgotten laser and charging capsule from where they'd been thrown when he'd disarmed the omega.

Dark Kat laughed maniacally, "that's it Grey...shoot!"

Now he had both Feral and T-Bone's attention. After a quick glance, Feral decided he'd better be the one to keep Dark Kat under guard leaving the other two to calm their son down.

The SWAT Kats moved slowly toward their son. "Grey...easy...its alright...put the laser down," Razor coaxed softly.

Grey didn't listen as he raised the laser and pointed it at Dark Kat.

_**AN: Will Grey shoot Dark Kat for revenge….will he become a murderous Kat?**_


	16. Chapter 15

NEW BORN KAT

Ch 15: Decision

**AN: Thank you Ulyferal for been my beta**.

Grey never realized how much a gun weighed until he held one on Dark Kat and tried to keep it steady. Hatred burned within him and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears, drowning out his father's plea.

"Grey...please...put down the gun, you don't want to do this," T-Bone coaxed, moving very slowly toward his son.

But Grey just snarled, continuing to stare at the omega eyeing him in triumph, goading him to shoot. "Move...he has to pay for killing my parents!"

T-Bone and Razor, who were moving closer and closer, paws out in pleading gestures, felt their hearts stutter at the look of determination, pain, and anger in Grey's eyes. Neither were sure they could get their kitten to hear them.

Razor prayed, their son's love for them would win over the blind hatred their son was feeling now. "If you do this, you'll be no different then he is and he'll win even if he's dead."

Grey just wished they would shut up and move out of the way. He didn't want to hurt them but he was going to get his revenge. "Move or else," he snapped, his paw on the gun much steadier than when he first picked it up.

Dark Kat, still tied up and sitting on the floor guarded by Feral, began to laugh maniacally. "That's it my minion...kill them and me if you can...or your father and mother will have died in vain!" Feral lunged forward and slammed a fist in the omega's face to shut him up.

T-Bone ignored Dark Kat, Grey held his attention completely. The kitten's eyes were hard and changing slowly to red, which was a shock and disturbing. How was that happening? He shoved that concern away as he moved forward, blocking his son's now unerring bead on the omega.

"Grey, don't do this...please...put the gun down...you're not like him..." T-Bone tried again, his voice tight and pleading.

"Not like him?" Grey's voice rose, nearly hysterical. "Didn't you know? I"m just a damn experiment to make soldiers for his new army," He spit venomously. His gun was now pointing at his father, T-Bone's, chest unwavering, with Dark Kat in directly line of fire behind him. "Now move out of the way!"

T-Bone's eyes widened behind his mask...an experiment...that's why Dark Kat had wanted him? Oh God, poor Grey. It was even more important that he not let his son be swayed to follow the path apparently programmed in him. Love had to be stronger than that shit's evil.

Razor was equally appalled and moved his body to form a wall between their son's target and himself. "Grey, don't...you may have been an experiment but you got lucky and was loved. You can fight what he did to you. Remember, we love you as did your parents. They didn't save you to do this! Think!"

T-Bone added something he knew had to be true or Grey wouldn't be who he was. "Grey, your mother was a good person who wanted only the best for you and hoped you would find a home with those that love you and you did. We love you...from the moment you were given to us to care for ...we've loved you!"

Grey shuddered, tears hovering in his eyes as he saw how close his fathers were and the gun he held in a rock steady grip pointed at them. "How can I let him live? He killed my parents...I only just met my father and that shit killed him in front of me!" His voice quivered with righteous fury and anguish as tears began to stream down his face.

"I know….I know...believe me I understand completely...but neither of them would want you to become like him. Razor and I don't want you to become something you're not. Please son, come with us..." T-Bone stood with the gun barely a few inches from his broad chest, his voice filled with emotions of love for his son.

Grey trembled, a sob lodged in his throat begging to be let out. He didn't want to hurt the fathers that had cared for him all his life. No way could he stand to be left alone now when his true parents were lost to him forever. The goodness of his mother and father were reflected in the caring and concerned looks of the pair of males standing before him and begging him to come home.

"Sorry…I'm sorry" Grey said dropping the gun to the floor and flinging himself into T-Bone's powerful embrace.

As if he were very little, T-Bone picked his son up and cradled him closely in his arms. Razor came close and tenderly caressed his son's forehead to soothe him.

"Shh...it's okay...it's over..." the big tabby murmured softly, turning away from the ugliness that was Dark Kat and began to walk away.

Behind them, they heard Dark Kat screaming in fury. "Roarrrr...you weak excuse for a minion...I should have killed you when I had the chance...enjoy your moment of weakness...I'll kill you once I escape jail."

Grey shuddered in fear and burrowed his head into his father's shoulder to try and shut out the omega's curses and cruel threats.

Feral was relieved the danger was over. He shoved his pistol into it holster roughly then snarled at Dark Kat. "You won't be escaping this time, crud. With all the evidence against you, you'll be sentenced to death and good riddance at last." With that he applied a hard one-two punch into Dark Kat's snarling and furious face, finally knocking the creep out.

Straightening his coat and stepping back from his prisoner, he glanced over to the pair who had halted to see Feral give Dark Kat what he deserved.

"I'll call for backup and have this filth picked up. I know Grey's upset but it would be best if I take him home so you two aren't linked to him. It's still not completely safe until this crud is truly dead. I'll do my best to keep him in a cell this time. We have a specially designed one for him that we hope will hold him. But don't relax your guard just yet." Feral said quietly, walking toward them.

"Don't worry, we will." Razor said grimly, reaching out to caress Grey's face briefly before T-Bone carried their kitten to Feral.

Giving Grey a tight hug, he leaned closed and deposited a tender kiss to his son's forehead then murmured, "we'll see you very soon, son."

Feral gently took the kitten from the tabby's arms and held him close to his own chest, his left arm holding Grey easily while he reached in and pulled out his radio. He nodded silently at the pair and watched as they ran off. Sighing, he called for backup, put the radio away and got a better grip on Grey so the kitten was a little more comfortable.

"It's over for now, Grey. I promise he won't get his paws on you again," he said quietly. Grey tilted his head up and gave Feral a teary eyed look then nodded before closing his eyes and huddling more deeply into the dark tom's arms.

'Whatever it takes, I'll make sure that piece of crud is put to death and soon then it will truly be over and we can all rest easier again.' He swore silently to himself.

Only minutes later, a squad of enforcers arrived and began the cleanup of minions and hauling Dark Kat away, wisely leaving the omega tied up in the SWAT Kats netting.

Only then did Feral leave the rest of the work to his enforcers and left with his precious burden.

**AN: Next Chapter will be the final. Please Review.**


	17. Chapter 16

NEW BORN KAT

Epilogue

As Feral drove his hummer through the rain with Grey sitting on the passenger seat beside him, the kitten remained silent the whole trip home to the salvage yard. Though his eyes were firmly on the road, the dark tom still kept a watchful eye on the kitten from the corner of his eye. He could see Grey was still badly shaken by everything that had happened with Dark Kat.

He couldn't avoid having to tell his enforcers that the kitten had been kidnapped by Dark Kat which was why he was at the scene. But as Commander, he could and did withhold the reason the omega had taken the kitten in the first place and left before the press could see Grey.

However, Feral knew it would only be a matter of time before the press managed to find out what Dark Kat had been up do especially during the trial. What he had to do was insure Grey's name never came up as one of the experimental soldiers Dark Kat was trying to breed. Whatever it took, he would make sure the kitten's name and face never appeared in any record. Though his presence at the trial would insure the omega was never allowed free again and met the death sentence, they would have to do it without the kitten's testimony. No one was aware of who Grey truly was except for himself and the SWAT Kats and he planned on keeping it that way.

He knew very well that if anyone had learned that Grey was an experimental soldier with unusual abilities, the Katizens would fear he would turn into another Dark Kat and his life would be over. He would be feared and hated by all. That was something he would never allow to happen.

Feral sighed in frustration, it wasn't in his nature to cover up evidence nor lie under oath but for the sake of this kitten's future happiness, he would break his own code.

As he stopped at a red light, he turned his head to check Grey then asked, "Are you okay?" His deep voice gruff as usual but holding a note of concern.

Grey didn't speak nor turn his head to look at the tom.

Sighing, Feral informed him, "I just wanted to tell you that Dr. Konway, who's in charge of my Biotech Lab at headquarters, will be putting you through a series of tests to determine exactly what Dark Kat did to you so you'll be prepared for whatever your body may do...don't worry I trust him explicitly...so you'll be safe. I won't take you to him until this business with Dark Kat is through so just try and put this behind you as much as you can." The kitten still didn't respond.

Feral sighed mentally, driving off when the light turned green. They were nearly to the salvage yard when Grey finally spoke for the first time since the trip began.

"Do you think I'll turn into that monster?" he asked, softly, causing the tom driving to stiffen.

Feral shouldn't have been surprised by the kitten's question, it was what he was thinking only moment ago that the public would think but not him and he made that clear when he said, "no...absolutely not...why would you think that?"

Grey lowered his ears in shame, "…..I threatened to kill my parents because I was so angry at them for standing in my way and preventing me from killing Dark Kat...I nearly did it...Dark Kat certainly would have without hesitation." That was his major concern. Would he become just what Dark Kat wanted, the perfect killing machine? It scared him to think so.

Feral snorted. "You behaved like most teens...emotions over thinking...nothing unusual about that...only thing different was you'd been pushed too far...your justified hatred for what Dark Kat had done to you and killing your real parents was what made you act so overly aggressive at the time however despite that overwhelming fury, you still managed to retain enough of your moral code to keep from harming your parents. Your love for them is your strength that Dark Kat only sees as weakness...that is the big difference between you and him and why you could never be like him. Never lose that love and you'll always be what I know you to be: Grey Pawson, the son of the SWAT Kats. I expect great things from you in the future even if it means following in their pawsteps as vigilantes," he said with unswerving certainty.

The kitten stared at him in stunned surprise then a small smile of relief spread across his face.

"Thanks Feral….you're right….like always," Grey softly whispered looking out the window to see they'd just arrived at the salvage yard where his parents now waited. He didn't see the smile from the Kat beside but didn't need to, he knew Feral was pleased.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Three months later, Alkatraz, Execution Chamber...

In a special room in the basement of the prison, the authorities were preparing to execute Dark Kat by lethal injection. Six enforcers and the warden had escorted the criminal who was now dressed in a white jumpsuit which looked very odd on the equally strange looking tom. As two of the enforcers held weapons on the prisoner, the other four placed him against a rotating table and quickly attached cuffs affixed to the table around his ankles and wrists. When he was secured, the table rotated backward until Dark Kat was laying flat.

The guards left the brightly lit and sterile room leaving the warden and two executioners behind. A doctor and nurse now moved from the corner where they'd waited and began to insert an IV through which the drugs would be administered then hooked the lines up to a special machine.

In front of the table was a huge glass window where witnesses sat in a small dimly lit room. A curtain hung closed in front at the moment. When the prisoner had been prepared, only then was the curtain drawn open and the warden spoke to the prisoner, the witnesses to the execution and the video camera capturing the proceedings.

"Dark Kat, you have been condemned to die by lethal injection for planning and attempting to set off a nuclear bomb with the purpose of destroying Megakat City and with the deaths of many innocent Kats and enforcers during the perpetration of this crime. Do you have any last words?" The warden asked solemnly.

Dark Kat writhed against his restraints and hissed at the warden. "You've not heard the last of me. You'll all die despite my death," he promised coldly. The watchers shuddered and gave each other nervous glances.

The warden showed no emotion, simply sighed then signaled the pair of executioners to press their buttons. A fully automated lethal injection machine injects the chemicals in the right order and amount once the catheters are in place. The machine has 6 syringes activated by mechanical plungers. Three syringes hold the lethal drugs, the other 3 contain harmless saline solution. Two buttons control the machine, one for the lethal syringes and one for the identical looking harmless ones. This kept either executioner from knowing which one had pressed the actual fatal button.

As deaths go, this one was fairly anticlimactic. Dark Kat continued to struggled and scowl for the time it took the liquid to reach his body but after that his body went limp and his eyes closed. Exactly ten minutes later, his chest ceased to rise and fall and all went silent.

The doctor came forward and took the prisoner's pulse, then softly asked the nurse to draw some blood. Once she'd done this, he used a small test strip from a vial to dip into the blood. A moment later he said, "the prisoner known as Dark Kat is officially dead. The test shows a lethal amount of the drugs are in his system, all bodily functions have ceased."

"Thank you doctor. Gentlekats, this concludes the execution," the warden said to the witnesses then the curtain was closed once more. Everyone left the room of the execution chamber and four attendants entered to remove the body.

The warden escorted the witnesses out of the prison. Not a tear had been shed for the omega, only relief was seen on the watchers faces as they left the prison for the fresh air and home. The press circled them like buzzards but all any of them would say was, "good riddance" or "now we're finally free of him."

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Enforcer Headquarters, Bio Tech Lab...four weeks after Dark Kat's death...

Grey was sitting on a medical bed watching Dr. Konway stare at his blood under a microscope. The kitten sighed and stared off into space. He'd been here every week since Dark Kat's death, allowing Dr. Konway to put him through many tests to determine what it was that had been done to his blood and DNA by the omega. His presence was kept strictly hush-hush so no one would wonder why he was there more than determining if he was alright from his encounter with the omega. Only Feral, his Sergeant and Dr. Konway were aware of exactly what happened to the kitten.

Today, the blood had returned from being processed in the lab and now Konway was getting his first good look at it.

"Hmm very interesting" he muttered, scratching his chin, intrigued at what he was looking at. After making some notes, he turned to the kitten and beckoned Grey over. "Come look at this."

Grey sighed, jumped off the bed and walked over to the doctor's side, "Um…so have you found a way to reverse what Dark Kat did to me?" he asked anxiously, staring up at the monitor the doctor was using to display his findings.

"No, I'm sorry that's not possible but I want you to understand why. See these DNA strands? They have been altered by all the various chemicals injected into you as a foetus. The good news is everything but one of these chemicals has had a beneficial effect on you, like your rapid healing, faster reflexes, etc."

"You said, all but one. What's different about that one chemical?"

Konway sighed and typed in something on his keyboard and a different image appeared. "This is what happens to your blood when charged with certain endorphins excreted when you are angry. See it turns orange. This could explain your bursts of uncontrolled anger and fury. Sort of a goad as it were."

"What does that mean?" Grey demanded, getting angry.

"Just what you're displaying now sets off some kind of chain reaction and amps up what should be simple anger into a berserker rage," Konway said, calmly.

"Wait you mean….I'm a ticking time bomb of destruction," Grey shouted in shocked dismay then began pacing as waves of anger poured off him. He halted before the doctor and demanded, "how am I supposed to deal with this...can it be removed?"

Konway eyed the young kitten sadly and shook his head. "No, its well and truly bonded to your entire DNA profile. Any attempt to try and undo what Dark Kat did would simply kill you. I'm sorry but you will simply have to learn to manage that part of yourself. Perhaps meditation exercises or other forms of mental discipline will help you control your temper or perhaps training your body in the many fighting methods will also be of benefit. But its not the end of the world, Grey. You're smart and have people who care about you. You'll manage this as well as you've been doing everything else that's happened to you," he said gently and encouragingly.

Grey growled and shook his head but tried to relax and take deep breaths. "I hate this. I could still be a danger to others..." he cried in rising panic.

Konway shook his head. "Only if you let it rule you!"

"Huh? How can I prevent that?"

"Just like I told you but you were so upset you weren't listening. Train your body...know what it can do...and learn to use the anger constructively like fighters do...rather than let it control you," Konway told him, seriously.

Grey stopped pacing and gaped at him a long moment. Finally, it sunk in what Konway was trying to say to him. "Oh, I think I see what you mean," he said slowly, as he processed this new information. The rage could be channeled into making him an excellent fighting machine in the protection of others like being an enforcer or like his adopted parents rather than as a weapon aimed at everyone and out of his control. This was what he meant.

The orange tom stepped close and placed a paw on the kitten's shoulder encouragingly, "you're a good kit, you'll do what's right and I'm sure your parents will be very good at helping you learn the control you need." A knock interrupted them. "Your parents have arrived...time to go," he said, smiling, and releasing the kitten. "Just remember what I told you."

Grey smiled back wanly and nodded as he waved goodbye and went out the door where his parents stood waiting for him. "Hey..."

"Hey, yourself. How did things go?" Jake asked. "Anything we should know about?"

Grey sighed. "Could you wait a while? I need to process what he told me a bit, first."

"Oh sure, no problem but if it's serious enough to disturb you this much, then I insist you tell us everything so we can help you, understood?" Jake was firm on this. No more secrets between any of them...it was just too dangerous.

Grey nodded. "Yes dad, I promise we'll talk soon."

"Good, then let's get home. We have work to do," Chance said, giving the kitten a quick hug to ease him as they walked toward the elevator. Stepping inside, Chance pushed the button for the lobby.

The three stepped out of the elevator once it arrived and began to walk across the lobby toward the main doors to the parking lot. They'd made it halfway to the door when Lt. Commander Steele bumped into Grey because his attention was on a file in his paws rather than where he was going.

"Look where you're going, you idiot," Steele growled, annoyed, shoving past Grey.

Eyes narrowed and anger up, the two adults with Grey lunged forward and grabbed Steele and squeezed him between them so others wouldn't noticed what they were doing.

"Apologize for being rude and knocking into our kit!" Chance threatened, coldly. He was holding Steele's arms while Jake kept his paws with claws digging into the tom's sides making him wince in pain.

Steele gulped in shocked surprise. He'd not even looked at the kitten but now did then back at both ex-enforcers. "Hhhe's your kit?" his voice squeaked in shock.

Despite the two's attempt to hide what they were doing, various enforcer eyes were staring at them. Grey shook his head and sighed.

"Dads let him go...you're drawing unwanted attention...and stop being so over protective of me." Both toms noted what Grey had seen and released the tom quickly.

Chance leaned close and hissed, "next time look where you're going."

Steele scowled at them but wisely said nothing as he scurried away. Grey continued to shake his head and his parents raised their paws up in defense, saying, "what?" in unison.

Grey growled but just passed by them and headed out the building toward their parked car with them chasing after him. He got into the car and sat in the middle.

When they arrived to join him, Jake said, "hey, don't be mad….we just don't like seeing people be treated that way." He took the passenger seat next to his son while Chance climbed into the driver's seat.

Grey snorted and rolled his eye, not responding to the two ending the conversation.

After that Chance started the car heading back home arriving minutes later. Parking the car inside the garage all three got out.

Grey began to head up to his room when Chance halted him with a question.

"Hey, how was school?"

Grey shrugged, "If you mean how did I do with a hundreds of kittens staring at me and whispering everywhere I went as well as teachers...then pretty good….what about you?" he asked sarcastically.

Chance snorted. "About as well as you did. Only it wasn't students and teachers but new crews and customers all asking why you were in Dark Kat's clutches. Other than that, a pretty good day." His eyes glinted with humor.

Jake shrugged. "At least we were able to repeat the lies Feral had already begun about why you were kidnapped. Unfortunately, calling you 'Dark Kat's son' is just too good a story for them to listen to even our carefully crafted lie. I swear I don't see how they insist on making that connection but whatever makes the news..." his face screwed up with disgust, showing how he really felt about it. "I just hope that nonsense blows over soon but for now all we can do is avoid anymore questions on the subject."

"Good luck with that," Grey said, bitterly. Despite Feral's efforts, the Katizen's of the city insisted on thinking he was Dark Kat's son despite many protests to the contrary. Exactly what the Commander had tried to prevent. He felt his father, Jake, was right. They would just have to ignore it and keep a low profile until people forgot about him. But it wouldn't be easy or nice around here for a while.

Tired of the whole subject, he started upstairs. "I'm going to my room. I want to be alone for a bit."

They nodded understandingly and headed for the garage. Grey went into his room and shut the door. He lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

Despite the doc's encouraging words of wisdom, he was still scared of what he was capable of. He had moved back to his old room from the hangar but he wasn't as comfortable as he'd been before all this happened. It had been weeks still after his rescue before he'd gone back to his original school.

Some of the teachers were wary of him while others were friendlier and these were the ones who felt bad for him and did their best to help him fit back in again. At lunch time, he'd become popular only because of what happened to him and not for himself alone.

However, there was one happy light in all this, he was very happy to see his friend Alex again. Alex apparently felt the same way and made himself useful by shooing away the annoying questioners, acting as a buffer between them and Grey which he appreciated a lot. His friend had missed him greatly and was happy to see him back.

During his first days back, that was when he and his fathers had been harassed the most by the nosy press. Feral was also fending off dozens of questions everywhere he went. Also during this time, he was regularly going to see Konway and gradually building a lasting friendship with the doctor. Not only that, but a few of the enforcers in the know would ask how he was doing. Even Feral would stop and speak with him whenever he was at headquarters or even sometimes would chat with him or check on his well being occasionally at the salvage yard.

The best thing that had happened during all this was Feral's more relaxed behavior toward the SWAT Kats. He still couldn't openly accept their help as that was against the law, but more often than not, he readily accepted their help when they fought against the other omegas still left around.

So truly, he shouldn't worry so much about this negative quirk he was left with. Things were so much better all around and this too could be managed. Feeling a bit more at ease, he was slipping off to sleep when he heard a loud, verbal fight going on outside.

Blinking alert, he got off the bed and stared out the window. A familiar dump truck was parked in front of the garage doors.

"Oh no!" Grey was dismayed and angry as he hurried downstairs to the garage.

Just before he made it outside, he could already hear Chance snarling at Burke and Murray. Stepping outside, he could see his dad pointing an angry finger at a pile of junk and yelling at the pair.

"You idiots! Why do you insist on dumping your crap right in front of the doors."

"Because we like you!" Murray smirked.

"Who are you calling idiots...idiots," Burke snorted back at them, loving the fact he could piss the big tabby off every time he did this. It never got old.

Jake grabbed Chance's arm and sighed, "why do you let them bait you like this...it's really getting old, buddy."

Chance gave his partner an angry scowl for that remark.

While his attention was turned, Murray spotted something more interesting. "Hey, Burke...lookee here...it's their son."

Burke turned his head to stare at Grey. "Hey, what's with those eyes...eh...you look creepy and weird with those things," he sneered, meanly.

Grey snorted in annoyance. His eyes turned red when he was experiencing bad emotions he'd learned and there was nothing he could do about it. Jake had told him to just ignore those that would make fun of him, but it was really hard at times...like now.

Jake could hold his temper when it was just them being insulted but when the two junk Kats started on their son, all bets were off and he was right there with Chance jumping at the pair with claws extended.

The two junk Kats jeered at them, though a little surprised at finally getting the reaction they'd wanted.

However, Grey wanted none of it. He quickly moved to stand between his parents and the two junk Kats. "Hey come on you two…..just ignore them...I am!"

Seeing how upset their actions made Grey, Chance and Jake stepped back and dropped their paws though they did grumble and complain under their breath about it.

Burke and Murray didn't know well enough to quit while they were ahead. Stupid and cruel, they began to hurl truly hurtful comments at Grey and his parents.

They laughed, then Burke crowed, "Cowards!"

"Hey Murray… how much you want to bet their weirdo son's mother slept with Dark Kat," Burke said nastily.

The three froze, backs to the pair of hecklers.

"Yeah, Burke, and I bet she liked it...a lot," Murray said, just warming up.

"...bet he grew tired of her though and that's why he killed her," Burke finished, laughing uproariously.

That was the final straw. Unusually calm, Chance murmured to his partner, "take Grey inside, buddy. I'll handle this." Jake nodded and guided Grey into the garage waiting room.

The jeering suddenly cut off and various oofs and uhs were heard as well as some crashing sounds then silence. The sound of the huge dump truck leaving was followed by Chance entering the waiting area, looking a bit roughed up and dirty but otherwise fine.

"They won't be bothering us any time soon," he said with satisfaction, glad to finally be able to teach those two a lesson. Turning to his son, he asked, "are you okay?".

Grey slowly nodded, "I'm fine…it's just so hard to hear people keep calling me that creep's heir. I know we have to put up with it but still, it hurts to hear it everywhere I go."

"I'm sorry Grey. Would you rather stop going to school and be home taught again?" Jake asked.

But their son shook his head. "No, I have friends that missed me and don't call me that and teachers that treat me decently. No, its more that I'm afraid of what I'm capable of doing thanks to Dark Kat's messing around with my DNA. I hate that I could be as dangerous as him one day," he admitted, upset and angry. He thought he'd accepted this but it still rankled within him.

Jake eyed him in concern. "What do you mean by that, son?"

Grey sighed and shook his head. "Konway told me most of my differences are good but there is one that isn't and that's the one that makes me dangerous. When I get angry it kicks into gear and I can fall into a berserker rage...shit...I hate this," he sudden halted his explanation, tears falling from his eyes.

"Aw...hey...it's okay...we just have to help you find ways to work with it and control it," Chance reached to hug his son and try to soothe him.

Jake joined the hug and said, "we're here for you Grey and we always will be."

Grey sniffed and managed a small smile. "Thank you," he murmured letting his parents comfort him and allowing his problems to wash away with his tears. With them by his side, he would be safe and that was all that mattered.

Chance smiled when he felt his son relax finally. Though he and Jake had never really planned on being parents, he would never regret it now. Becoming a father was the happiest moment of his life and despite its many ups and downs, it was the most wonderful experience of his life.

Feeling better but totally drained, Grey took a much needed nap before dinner. His fathers cleaned up the mess the junk pair had made, finished up in the garage, then closed up shop for the day.

Jake made dinner and Chance got their son to join them. They ate before the TV then watched for a while ending with the David Litterbin show before shutting it off.

Chance had something he wanted to do with Grey in the hangar before they hit the hay but when he looked down beside him, he found his son blissfully asleep. He smiled warmly.

"Sshh, Jake...Grey's asleep" he whispered, standing up then leaning over to pick Grey up gently.

Jake chuckled softly. "Poor kitten. Better tuck him in for the night," he murmured as he lead the way upstairs and opened Grey's bedroom door.

"He's getting a little heavy for me to carry now," Chance commented softly.

Jake smiled at that then went over to the bed and pulled the blanket and sheets down. Chance tucked Grey in then pulled the covers back over him. Both toms gave Grey tender kisses to his forehead before backing away then leaving him to sleep, closing the door quietly behind them.

They began to head back downstairs, not ready for sleep yet when Chance halted suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Jake hissed.

Chance turned his head and smiled broadly. "Do you remember what tomorrow is?"

"December 20th, why?" Jake asked then remembered and smiled too. "Oh yeah...its..."

"...the night Grey became our son," Chance finished.

Upstairs, a sleeping Grey suddenly smiled in his sleep though he had no idea he was doing it. For the first time in a long while, he slept peacefully.

THE END

**AN: Thank you Ulyferal for been my beta for this story. Thanks.**


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